Africa is in leadership of the arts this week as the Africa Utopia Festival at London’s Southbank Centre conjures up imaginations and new perceptions about its land and diaspora.
This all-encompassing Rubik’s cube shows its every possible face as threads of culture, community, technology, fashion, sustainability and ethical wealth creation intertwine and manifest new ways for art connoisseurs.
Festival highlights include award winning British comedian Gina Yashere’s live show, gigs from musician Mulatu Astatke, a world premiere of dance solo by Qudus Onikeku, the L’Orchestre Symphonique Kimbanguiste, and a fashion show in collaboration with creative Director Ola Shobowale.
The festival re-invents what we can do collectively in a confined space as the viewers are no longer just in the position of a spectator but are here to make up the crucial missing meaning of Utopia – true acceptance and re-shaping of the minds. The list of featuring artist goes on and on but they all make the mechanism of Utopia flow as the festival aims to stimulate not just the visual, sonic or audience participation but an experiential catharsis into which we are deemed to sink.
Visit Southbank Centre’s Africa Utopia Festival page for detailed program guide as well as The Africa Chanel for the festival’s coverage.