The
African Arts Institute is proud to support the Poetry Africa 2012
roadshow when it hits Cape Town for a one-night-only show at the Cape
Town International Convention Centre on Saturday 13th of October.
We will be giving away THREE sets of double tickets to the Cape Town event via our Facebook page towards the end of this week. Make sure you're in it to win it!
The Cape Town event forms part of the regional tour
to Malawi, Zimbabwe, Botswana before culminating at the main Poetry
Africa event in Durban (15-20 October). Organised by the Centre for
Creative Arts (University of KwaZulu-Natal) and made possible through
principal funding from the National Lottery Distribution Trust Fund,
2012 marks the 16th edition of this landmark festival and the touring
programme enables other cities and centres to catch a piece of the
action.
Heading up the Cape Town showcase is Saul Williams,
whose innovative work as an actor, poet and musician continues to break
new ground on arts stages around the world. The proficiency and
originality across different artforms which have established Williams at
the cutting-edge of creativity provide a riveting fusion of voice and
music artistry on matters of heart, mind and social conscience.
Well-known for his breakout role in Slam, Williams has appeared in over
ten films and starred in the Senegalese-shot film Tey, which showed at
the recent Durban International Film Festival.
One
of the signature characteristics of Poetry Africa is the showcasing of
poets from the African continent, which this year includes Nii Ayikwei Parkes from Ghana and Philo Ikonya of
Kenya. Parkes is a sought-after socio-cultural commentator whose poetry
embraces themes of power, cultural conflicts, love, and the friction
between capitalism and humanism. Poet and novelist Philo Ikonya was
President of the Kenyan chapter of PEN when she suffered brutal arrest
for speaking out against corruption and the clampdowns on freedom of
expression in Kenya, and is now based in Norway.
Completing the lineup for Cape Town are
Lebo Mashile, Ewok, Madosini and Pedro-Espi-Sanchis.
Popular television presenter Lebo Mashile is an iconic part of
contemporary South African culture and a dynamic pinnacle of the poetry
scene, while the razorsharp wordsmith Ewok is active as MC, playwright,
actor, teacher, and is part of hip-hop outfit Illuminating Shadows.
Madosini is the foremost exponent of the various bow instruments that
form part of Xhosa culture and a crucial custodian of these traditions. A
regular collaborator with Madosini is Pedro Espi-Sanchis; originally
from Spain, Pedro has become a local and international legend for his
African story-telling and expertise on indigenous music instruments,
especially the Lekgodilo pipe-flute.
Tickets for the Cape Town showcase cost R80 and are available through Computicket. Visit www.cca.ukzn.ac.za for the full programme of activities, biographies, and photos of participants.
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