World culture converges on Benoni as Womad endeavours to make a profit this year
Nashen Moodley
The task of bringing a world music festival, even if it is the most significant travelling festival of its kind, to a country that is severely underexposed to world music is an unenviable one. Despite fighting what many saw as an uphill battle, World of Music, Arts and Dance (Womad) 1999 in Benoni was extremely successful and introduced a fascinating and diverse group of artists to a completely new, albeit racially imbalanced, audience.
Womad’s artistic director Thomas Brooman says of last year’s festival: “After years of enjoying the music, dance and art of Africa, it was fitting to bring other cultural voices to Africa. The whole world is fascinated by the emergence of the new South Africa, and all the artists were very eager to visit the country. We would have hoped for a more balanced audience between black and white, but nevertheless the start we made had a great atmosphere and seemed to touch people.”
Financially, the event fell marginally short of breaking even but, according to Brooman, Womad has taken to the task with a visionary optimism and is more concerned with longevity than a quick or instant profit. “Every time we go through an incredible effort and obviously we want the audience to be there in as large quantities as possible. While the aim is to gather a profit this year, the main aim is longevity – the battle is over a period of years.”
Since that first South African festival last year, the Womad road-trip has been as far afield as Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Spain, England, the United States, Italy and the Canary Islands. Now it returns to Benoni for the first of 11 Womad festivals planned for this year.
While the line-up for Benoni is considerably smaller than the English Womad line-up for instance, Brooman insists that in terms of quality there is very little difference and that the festival will be very strong musically. He attributes the larger English line-up to the fact that many artists from all over the world have relocated to the musical hubs of London, Paris and other European cities. Consequently, the festival organisers are able to book far more artists without the concern of crippling travel costs. Also, the festival is a long-standing one in England and was completely sold out last year.
It might well be smaller, but the line-up for Womad 2000 Benoni is certainly interesting in its diversity. While there are some recognisable names like Joan Armatrading, Afro Celt Sound System, Trans- Global Underground and Heather Nova, most of the artists are unknown to South African audiences. For the very first time we will be exposed to the Mexican mariachi band, Chevan, the Chinese Wu and Wang Duo who will play 4E000-year-old music, the eminently danceable tunes of brilliant British Asian band, Joi, and many others.
Brooman was reluctant to recommend any of the bands at the expense of others. When pressed for an answer he cited Shooglenifty, Mory Kante and the Afro Celt Sound System as international festival favourites but added: “I’m probably the worst person to ask; I’m just a fan of all of it really.”
Womad 2000 takes place on April 1 and 2 at Bluegum Creek Estate, Benoni. Tickets can be purchased as a two-day pass for R150 or a single-day ticket for Sunday only at R75. VIP tickets are available at R350 each. For more information go to www.womad.org or www.realsa.co.za
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