‘Re-Linking Communities through Culture’

HARARE & BULAWAYO

Saturday 24 May 2014

 

Book Café, 139 S.Machel Ave/6^th Street, Harare

Bulawayo Theatre, L.Takawira Ave, Bulawayo

 

 

On Saturday 24 May, Harare’s Book Café and Bulawayo Theatre come alive with an exciting artistic lineup of artists from different parts of the country, 17 diverse music and dance acts in 3 events, rounding up a week of spectacular local cultural diversity to commemorate Africa Day and Culture Week, under the theme “Re-linking Communities through Culture”. 

 

On Saturday afternoon 24 May the Book Café explodes from 3pm with lively young emerging artists in a ‘Music Factory Africa Day Special’ featuring 3 amazing young acts, ‘Were’, ‘Jam Signal’ and ‘African Pride’.

 

Later on Saturday 24 May at Book Cafe, powerhouse Alexio Kawara takes the stage back-to-back with Edith weUtonga, opening at 8pm with ‘Zimbabwe’s best kept secret (until now)’ the amazing Tanga Pasi from Gwanda who have garnered a steady rise to fame with their South Africa tours.

 

On the same night, over 400km from the capital at the Bulawayo Theatre in the ‘City of Kings’, another great event, the ‘Bulawayo World Music Concert’ features Jeys Marabini, Willis Wataffi, The Outfit, Eve Kawadza, Djembe Monks, Xmile, Bozoe,  and introduces emerging young singers Alaina, Luke de Luks and Thandy Dlana, alongside isitshikitsha and ballet from dance groups of ‘Umkhathi Theatre’ and ‘Studio 13’.  The concert is presented by Pamberi Trust in association with Born to Life Arts & Media, Bulawayo.

 

Eve Kawadza: Carrying the F.L.A.M.E Flag high

Edith WeUtonga: Always the F.L.A.M.E Ambassador 

 

The Africa Day theme and cultural activities have been devised in support of Zimbabwe Culture Week under the National Arts Council of Zimbabwe, and in Harare as part of the Harare International Carnival in cooperation with Zimbabwe Tourism Authority.  

 

 

‘Re-linking Communities through Culture’

 

The theme ‘Re-linking Communities through Culture’ is born from the concept of ‘cultural inclusivity’ in which we welcome and celebrate all the extraordinary cultural diversity, origins and also African and other influences that make up Zimbabwean arts today. 

 

Pamberi Trust creative director Paul Brickhill said “ The theme itself, ‘Re-linking communities through culture’, has really important issues at stake.  Arts output nationally has become heavily concentrated in Harare (where so many artists have migrated).  And yet the roots of many of Zimbabwe’s great musical innovations originated outside Harare; mbira, mbube, chimurenga styles and others have their roots far from cities and from diverse rural cultures.  A kind of cultural fragmentation has occurred, and it is now more difficult and less common for bands and music to truly emerge from small centres and make it big nationally as Devera Ngwena once did (from Gaths Mine, Mashava).”

 

“There is a need to rebuild cultural assets outside Harare where there are such rich and vital intangible cultural assets.  This is about cultural decentralisation, cultural inclusivity and re-linking diverse communities through culture” he said.

Throughout the Saturday 24 May celebrations in Harare and Bulawayo, the single theme that unites all the artists performing is they represent a myriad of diverse Zimbabwean expressions and cultural origins and so remind us on Africa Day that our intangible assets in culture and our diversity are a “national treasure”.

 

These and other Pamberi Trust arts development programmes are supported by many local and international partners including Africalia and the EU Action Programme.

 

 

ENDS