Performances by Malian musician Salif Keita and Dutch theatre company Dogtroep are among the trump cards of this year’s Arts Alive festival in Johannesburg, writes Bafana Khumalo
HOT on the heels of the Standard Bank National Arts Festival in Grahamstown, Arts Alive — Johannesburg’s answer to cultural relevance — has announced its line-up for this year’s month-long collection of activities.
In addition to the regular fare of jazz and theatre, Arts Alive will be bringing to South Africa the celebrated Paris- based Malian musician, Salif Keita.
“Many of the music tours of international artists to South Africa since the lifting of the cultural boycott have focused on American and European artists,” said media liaison Firdoze Bulbulia at a press conference last week. “Arts Alive aims to increase the contact we have with African musicians, particularly those who may have a special interest to audiences and musicians in South Africa.”
This is the second high-profile African musician Arts Alive has imported: last year the festival’s trump card was Cameroonian Manu Dibango.
Keita’s band, which includes musicians from Morocco, Cameroon, Guadeloupe, Brazil, Guinea, South Africa and Mali, is known for its combination of indigenous African music with Western forms. Three concerts will be staged — two at the Mega Music Warehouse in Newtown, and one at the Vista Arena in Soweto. In addition to these performances, Keita will be hosting a number of workshops.
Commenting on Keita’s visit, Bulbulia said: “We hope it will provide opportunities, through both the performances and the workshops, for learning about aspects of Africa from which we have been isolated, and for sharing with the musicians in the group.”
The music component of the festival this year also includes a Jazz Keyboard Series, in which three world renowned keyboard players have been invited to explore — in collaboration with local jazz performers — the theme of the jazz piano/keyboard.
Jeroen van Vliet, of the Netherlands, will be accompanied by the Dutch Paul van Kemenade Quintet and local saxophonist Zim Ngqawana; American Jon Jang will share the stage with flautist James Newton, accompanied by local drummer Lulu Gontsane and others. The attendance of a Cuban performer is still to be confirmed.
On the visuals arts front, the walls of the city are expected to “explode into colour at the cue of spring” with the launch of the Wall Art Project. Murals painted by people from communities in and around Johannesburg will decorate the walls of the city and the townships. This initiative is designed to involve people in the improvement of their environment.
Another winning card in this year’s festival will be the Rhythms of Africa concert, featuring the talents of Sibongile Khumalo, Yvonne Chaka Chaka and the National Symphony Orchestra. This performance follows the group’s recent, acclaimed stint at Sun City.
On the theatre front, the Dutch company Dogtroep, which includes painters, actors, design engineers, technicians, sculptors and other unconventional players, will be using urban spaces and multiple media to put together stories in collaboration with local performers and musicians.
The group, which has staged productions at the toppling of the Berlin Wall and in the French Alps for the 1992 Winter Olympics, will be performing in the Newtown area.
Arts Alive regulars from the last two years of the festival’s existence include Jazz on the Lake and Mbaqanga in the Park, an ActionFest theatre series by community groups, writing/story telling forums and a Dance Factory Festival.