Afro Poetics Creations is bringing the revolution to Malawi! From 22 August 2005 to 18 September 2005 Lilongwe, Mzuzu and Blantyre will see the explosion of the Independent Artists In Motion (I AM) Afrika Cultural Tour, a project born out of a need to harness young Afrika’s raw talent and intellectual creativity for the effective reorganisation of urban youth societies and promotion of urban youth cultures. The tour is a platform for youth business and arts interaction between South African and Malawian artists hosted through a series of workshops, live performances and radio programming all filmed as part of a documentary series highlighting the journeys of a multi-talented and multi-cultural group of young leaders in the making…

The time has come for Afrikan creators to encourage active participation in the implementation of the new Cultural Revolution that will catapult Afrika to the cutting edge of global social movements. The I AM Afrika Cultural Tour is a showcase of the beauty of creativity, importance of youth expression and the potential of artistic communication in encouraging Afrikan youth to create their own legacies on which their futures will be founded. The journey itself is a practical example of how the youth keep Afrika in motion.

“It’s important for us as talented young artists to tap into Afrika’s creative wealth and heritage and proactively participate in placing our continent’s creative industries back on the world map. In a broad context, this Afrikan cultural revival demands the creative and artistic reorganisation of Afrikan ethics and arts-cultures. It further demands the establishment of artistic platforms that will help curb xenophobia, tribalism and racism on the continent through the delivery of consciousness-filled lyrics and prose,” says Afro Poetics’ managing director and acclaimed ethno-urban-hiphop-soul-poetess Chigo Gondwe. 

“SOUL OF OUR STREETS” BUSINESS – ARTS AND LEADERSHIP WORKSHOPS

Arguably, a great portion of Afrika’s wealth is found in its creative industries yet a lack of business knowledge and training sees many young and talented creatives struggling to establish and sustain viable businesses within the arts industries. The “Soul of our Streets” business-arts and leadership workshops aim to create a platform for dialogue and interaction around topics such as film, music, deejaying, creative writing, graphic design and animation whilst developing much needed leadership skills in youth already working in or seeking careers in these sectors. The workshops are also designed to revive the pro-active spirit of entrepreneurship and social responsibility amongst youth in our ever changing Afrikan societies as supported by local Malawian organizations such as the Ministry of Youth, Sports, Arts and Culture; Active Youth Initiative for Social Enhancement (AYISE); Youth Development Initiative; Mzuzu University; and Malawi Writers Union. The workshops will conclude with a live poetry reading by South African and Malawian poets. Workshops are open free of charge to young filmmakers, graphic designers, musicians, poets and DJ’s (with a maximum of 50 delegates per workshop). The workshop programmes are: 

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“AFRIKA MOTO” THE REAL AFRIKAN PARTY 

“The real beauty of music is being able to educate and entertain on the same platform,” says South Africa’s number one slam poet and hip-hop artist Thabiso Mohare (a.k.a Afurakan).

Afrikan’s have undeniably mastered the art of celebration through music, dance and oral expression. So it is with this same spirit that the I AM Cultural Tour presents the Afrika Moto parties which will showcase a blend of poetry, hip-hop, ragga, Dj sets and photo exhibitions by a selection of top South African and Malawian artists. The artist line-up includes internationally acclaimed Malawian-born ethno-urban-hiphop-soul-poetess and writer Chigo Gondwe (a.k.a Chi) – former female lead vocalist for the award-winning Malawian band Bubu Lazzy, who will be launching her solo CD M’Evolution: Free As Style and self-published poetry book Journey To Womanhood at the events; South Africa’s legendary hip hop quality music selector and photographer Dj Real Rozzano of the Forgotten Frequencies Crew, who also happens to be one of the founding fathers of the hip-hop movement in South Africa and will be showcasing his photographic exhibition of SA township life titled RozzanosEye; South Africa’s most progressive and highly acclaimed slam poet and writer Afurakan of the soul2mouth collective; the multi-faceted singer, song writer and film maker Tamara Gondwe (a.k.a Tama); and Malawian Flames of Fire DJ Elijah Phekani (a.k.a. Ras Elijah). Featured Malawian artists include widely recognised ethno-musicologist, poet and television producer Waliko Makhala; top Malawian hiphop and RnB deejay Andrew Moroma; and others. 

The fire will be set ablaze at Villa Kagwentha in Mzuzu with the summer heat wave moving to the American Pirates Casino in Lilongwe for the second leg and the final explosion happening at the Sunset Plaza in Blantyre where tour sponsor-partners Capital FM radio will be broadcasting the entire event live from the venue. Door charges for the parties is MK500 (Lilongwe and Mzuzu) and MK750 (Blantyre). The Afrika Moto Party schedule is as follows:

9pm till late (mpaka kucha!)

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“AFRIKA EXPRESS” – LIVE RADIO PROGRAMMING

In a joint effort between Afro Poetics and Capital FM, the I AM Afrika team has put together an exciting series of radio programmes for the tour that will keep young people in Malawi glued to their radio sets. The programmes will include business-geared general knowledge quizzes as well as social-cultural themed hiphop and poetry phone-in challenges with prize give-aways (e.g. books, CDs and T-shirts); live in-studio music and poetry performances by guest artists and deejays; and live radio theatre skits promoting positive youth lifestyles.

“Ultimately, radio is one of the best mediums for spreading information and promoting music to a mass audience – and unlike television, the listeners don’t need a license,” comments SA’s top DJ RealRozzano.

Youth must certainly stay tuned to Capital FM radio to participate in these exciting programmes and to stand chances of winning tickets to the Afrika Moto parties in their area among other prizes.

“CHASING THE SIGN” – FILM DOCCUMENTARY

“As Afrikans, documenting our history is an essential part of preserving our ancient heritage for future generations. Our fore-parents created murals on cave walls and to this day it is through visual arts that most of our history is told. Film is a modern day medium of the same expression,” says Malawian singer, songwriter and filmmaker Tama.

Apart from capturing the many activities of the I AM Afrika Cultural Tour, this film documentary will record and reflect the cultures, lifestyles and realities of Afrikan youth – a showcase of how Afrikan youth are rising above the challenges of their days and seizing opportunities to create their own legacies on which their futures will be founded. The events unfolding on screen will be delicately interwoven with the poetry from Chigo Gondwe’s recently self published poetry book: Journey to Womanhood. Through her unique blend of story-telling and poetry, Chigo will guide her companions down the road of time and back to where the revolution began – in Malawi, the root of her childhood. Simultaneous to sharing the beauty, inspiration and reality of her life as a young Afrikan woman with her fellow country men and women, she will share stories and experiences of her life and times in South Africa, her home-away-from-home. 

“Responsible youth grow up to be responsible adults. Our story as Afrikan youth can only be told by us as we feel it and experience it. We are revolutionary Afrikan youth and we are determined to strengthen our brothers and sisters across the continent. Until we are truly free from poverty, disease, spiritual bondage, crime, abuse and mis-education, we will continue Chasing the Sign and leaving traces in urban spaces. After all, we are Afrika!”

Website: www.afropoetics.co.za

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