(Pic: Jiggs Thorne, House on Fire director and Bushfire founder)Art is alive and kicking in Swaziland!
A new wave of talent is emerging from one of the smallest countries in Africa – the tiny Kingdom of Swaziland. Bholoja, a major new player on the African soul scene (and currently on an epic 16-country tour) started his career singing at House on Fire, a wonderfully unique arts venue in the Ezulwini Valley. At this fantastical Afro-Shakespearean castle, one of Africa’s top entertainment venues, the country has witnessed the rise of a new arts scene.
Through major House on Fire concerts, including the highly-acclaimed Bushfire Festival, local artists such as Bholoja and new all-female diva group Temaswati, are being provided a platform to develop and showcase their talent, as well as exposing a nation to world-class artists such as Hugh Masekela, Ladysmith Black Mambazo and Freshly Ground.
“Talent is everywhere, and, given the space, you can start to create your own language,” says House on Fire director and Bushfire founder Jiggs Thorne, an experienced artist with a passion and vision for the development of the Swazi arts.
Swaziland’s annual Bushfire International Festival of the Arts (May 28 to 30 this year), hosted by House on Fire, aims to create a forum of cultural expression for artists from Swaziland and abroad. The festival, which was started in 2007, has steadily built up a programme which attracts a global audience and has created a breathing space for the community to express themselves and experience a world-class event on their doorsteps. The festival also makes a critical contribution towards economic and social development in the country, generating over €6 million in Swaziland over the course of the 2009 Bushfire alone.
Swaziland, historically a culturally rich country, continues to keep alive its traditional dance, singing and ritualistic practices, but has had trouble keeping up in creative industries and loses much of its talent to neighbouring South Africa. Speaking on the subject of his Swazi cultural heritage, Bholoja says: “I like to sing about my culture, to sing about Swaziland and what people are experiencing here. I must put my country first, my culture first, and I can keep my signature as a Swazi musician while playing for an audience locally and internationally.”
In the past, artists like Bholoja have tended to move to Johannesburg or Cape Town to explore the arts scene, but it looks like this might change through support from organisations such as House on Fire and the Alliance Française du Swaziland, who has supported Bholoja’s tour and debut album.
Using this year’s Bushfire Festival as a hub, not only for performers and their fans, but also for industry professionals, the organizers are hoping to foster the growth of a pan-African arts network with Swaziland becoming a major development link in the region.
An “Arts Round Table” in the week proceeding Bushfire, House on Fire, in partnership with major arts development group Arterial Network, offered the opportunity for arts associations and government to discuss the development of the arts in a facilitated environment. The organisers of this year’s Bushfire included a dedicated “Schools Festival Day” into the programme to nurture a new generation of artists. Through these initiatives, House on Fire hopes to join hands with government, augmenting an existing structure, while fuelling a demand for professionalising the arts industry through advocacy, lobbying and training.
“Bushfire has become an inestimable resource for economic generation in the Swazi creative sector,” says Marimba journalist Mutimbanyoka. “The eyes of the world are on Swaziland as a result of the reputation Bushfire has built in three years. Swaziland proves that small countries have big hearts.”
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