The first Awesome iLembe Arts Festival will
take place across the iLembe region on the North Coast of KwaZulu-Natal from August
8 to 10, 2014.
An innovative and far-sighted initiative by
the Department of Arts and Culture in partnership with producers Awesome Africa
Festival Productions, this multi-cultural event in celebration of 20 years of
freedom and democracy will take the music to the people – and directly into the
communities themselves at venues in Mandeni, Ndwedwe, Maphumulo and KwaDukuza.
The Festival will feature around 40 local,
national and international artists in the disciplines of music, theatre, dance,
poetry, storytelling and arts and crafts, with the main focus falling on music
this year. Audiences will be enthralled by contributions from various music
genres and themes including jazz, gospel, pop, rock, pan-african, maskandi,
isicathamiya, hip hop, Indian traditional, Bollywood, and various “world music”
styles. The Festival will also include the “Funk it Up” DJ Experience, as well
as a focus on South African legends and a Songwriters’ Hall of Fame.
As the Festival falls over the Woman’s Day”
weekend, there will be a strong focus on women artists, and in the special
concert commemorating legends, the first artist to be featured will be the incomparable
Ray Phiri with his The Man, The Music,
The Friendships concept.
In keeping with the Festival’s aim of
showcasing local talent, it is envisaged that up to 50% of all talent will be
drawn from the iLembe region. The international artists will be chosen for
their passion and dedication in collaborating and transferring skills to local
artists, and renowned KZN based mentors will work alongside local talent and
local event managers to prepare them for the festival.
Says MEC for Arts & Culture Mrs
Ntombikayise Sibhidla-Sapetha, “We are very proud and excited to associate
ourselves with this unique brand and concept that goes far beyond providing
great entertainment. Besides many pro-active socio-economic elements, the
Festival also addresses the vital aspects of social cohesion and nation
building in our country. No longer will iconic events and artists be the domain
only of the big cities. We pride ourselves in taking the music and the arts
back to the people – in essence straight into the communities who have
supported our fight for freedom and democracy.
“We have recently had big names such as
Carlos Santana, Bruce Springsteen, Eminem and other international stars only
performing in the big cities, and even Durban has been excluded,” she continues.
“Many people are asking us why we are bringing a legend like Kirk Whalum deep
into the rural areas – and our answer is that we believe that we need to “give
back” to our people in the communities, who have never had the opportunity to
see these kinds of stars right in front of their eyes, despite relating and
supporting their music for a long time – and, in this instance, especially Kirk
Whalum, whose brand of gospel and jazz speaks directly to the soul of our
people and our sense of Ubuntu.
She adds: “So what better time to launch
this than in 2014, the year of our celebration of 20 years of freedom and
democracy. In years to come, it is envisaged that the number of venues included
in the Festival will increase to include historical sites along the King Shaka
Heritage route and the Luthuli Museum (which was a home for the first South
African Nobel Peace Prize winner Chief Albert Luthuli), Ndondakusuka Hills and
the Nhlangakazi mountains. We see this Festival growing organically in the
future, and enticing tourists not only from South Africa, but also the world to
come and share our community spirit and talent”.
Festival Director Princess Nandi Zulu says,
“The Festival aims to be an iconic event that will last into posterity, and the
added components of a local talent search and a capacity building programme
will address inherent societal issues such as economic development, job
creation, skills transfer and talent identification, making it a truly unique
event. The festival, is expected to attract an audience of around 20,000 people
over the three days, and will provide between 400 direct and 1,000 indirect
jobs. The festival will actively target an 80% share of festival staff and
festival-related spend to flow into the iLembe region thus stimulating economic
development. In time, we aim to stimulate tourism along the ILembe Region which
boasts majestic hills, warm beaches and a rich cultural mix of Zulu, European
and Indian people and historic heritage sites”.
For further information on the Festival, or
for anyone in the ILembe region who would like to be involved, call Gabi
Nkabinde on 084 357 8860 or visit www.awesomeilembe.com
Posts
