Performers
Swahili henna design workshop – Mon 23rd May
This workshop will explore the significance of henna, incense and khangas in Swahili
East African culture. Participants will learn about the uses of henna for special
occasions and how to create their own henna design. They will also be shown how
khangas are worn for cultural celebrations and the meaning of incense in Swahili
culture.
Workshop facilitated by the Dublin Swahili Institute.
www.swahili.ie
Bellydancing workshop – Mon 23rd May
Experience the traditional North African bellydance dance form in this workshop with
Yasmina. Participants are asked to wear comfortable clothing.
Yasmina Bouhebbal:
Yasmina Bouhebbal first experienced oriental dance as a child at Algerian weddings
and other social occasions. She has performed on stage and featured in TV and in
many films over the years. She toured with U2 on the Zooropa tour in 1993 and has
performed with many artists including Kila and Demi Roussos. Yasmina has been
teaching bellydance in Dublin since 1994.
See: http://www.yasminadance.com/
You tube video clips available on http://www.yasminadance.com/youtube.php
Poetry reading and discussion event – Tues 24th May
Poets – from Zimbabwe, Nigeria and Ireland - will read from and discuss their work.
Participating writers include Nyaradzo Masunda, Emmanuel Jakpa and Harry Clifton.
Presented by Dil Wickremasinghe (presenter of Newstalk's ‘Global Village’ programme).
Emmanuel Jakpa
Oritsegbemi Emmanuel Jakpa was born in Warri, Nigeria, and currently lives in
Ireland. His poetry has been published widely, including DIAGRAM, Echoing Years,
Landing Places, and African American Review. He has been nominated for the
Pushcart Prize several times. He has also received numerous recognitions, and the
2008 W. B. Yeat’s Pierce Loughran Award.
Harry Clifton
Harry Clifton was born in Dublin in 1952 but has lived in Africa and Asia as well
as more recently in Europe. He has published six collections of poems including
The Desert Route: Selected Poems 1973-1988 (Gallery Press 1992) and Secular
Eden:Paris Notebooks 1994-2004(Wake Forest University Press 2007). On the Spine
of Italy, his prose study of an Abruzzese mountain community, was published by
Macmillan in 1999. For ten years he lived in France, publishing Le Canto d’Ulysse,
his poems in French translation in 1996, and returning to Ireland in 2004. He lives in
Dublin and is currently Ireland Professor of Poetry.
Nyaradzo Masunda
Nyaradzo Masunda was born in the Gutu Distrit of Zimbabwe. She came to Ireland
to join her husband Lovemore, a Civil Engineer working in Cork. She has two boys
aged eleven and seven. Her poetry was included in Landing Places an anthology
of poetry by Immigrant Poets in Ireland. She has read her poetry on the RTE Arena
programme, on the Sound Eye Poetry Festival and News Talk. Nyaradzo feels
honoured to read her poetry for the second time in celebration of Africa Day.
Film night and discussion: ‘U-Carmen eKhayelitsha’ – Wed 25th May
Film: ‘U-Carmen eKhayelitsha’ (South Africa, 2005). This film, which won the Golden
Bear award at the Berlin film festival, is a modern version of Bizet’s opera Carmen.
The story was adapted to the setting of the Western Cape township Khayelitsha, and
the score translated and sung in the click language Xhosa.
See http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0445776/combined
Film Screening Presenter - Sarina Bellissimo
A former teacher and development educator, Sarina Bellissimo works as a freelance film/entertainment journalist, reviewing films and interviewing some of the film world's talent for Spin 103.8's We Love Movies and Plan B. She is also a regular contributor to the movie segment of Newstalk106-108's Moncrieff show. In 2008, she co-presented and co-produced Channel 6's (now 3e) movie programme Take Six. Sarina has also appeared on Ireland AM's movie slot and been on TV3's Midday panel discussing the topical news of the day.
Main event – Live Music - Niwel Tsumbu trio – Fri 27th May
Cork-based Congolese guitarist-singer Niwel Tsumbu performs with his band.
Niwel Tsumbu - Biographical info
Niwel Tsumbu was born in 1982 in Kinshasa, in the Democratic Republic of Congo
where he first learnt to play Soukous and Rhumba on the guitar. He attributes his
initial jazz education to the musician Crispin Ngoy and through jazz discovered other
musical forms. In 2004, Niwel moved to Ireland, began playing with local bands and
formed the groups Sumu, Jazzmu and Motema. He has played at numerious events
including the Cork Jazz Festival and the Festival of World Cultures in Dun Laoghaire
and supported well-known artists including Kila, Horace Andy and Cameroon bass
player Richard Bona.
Extensive biography, press reviews and samples available on http://niweltsumbu.com/
Romuald Hazoumè
Romuald Hazoume is a Winner of the Arnold Bode Prize at documenta 12, and is one of Africa’s leading visual artists. He has worked with a wide variety media throughout his career, from discarded petrol canisters, oil paint and canvas, to large-scale installation, video and photography. The artists’ exhibition at IMMA focuses on his iconic sculptures made from discarded plastic canisters which resemble the primitive tribal masks that were so influential to the early Modernists, such as Picasso and Braque.
Yacouba Konatè
Yacouba Konatè, Curator, University of Abidjan, Ivory Coast. He is a professor of Philosophy at the University of Concody in Abidjan, Ivory Coast. He has been part of the EU expert team on cultural development since 1997. In 2000, Professor Konate served as a Director of the National Institute of Arts and Culture and as a Director of the Cabinet of Ministers of Culture and Francophony. He is also the member of Board of the Administrative Council of the International association of Art Critics. He is a writer, scholar, art critic, and curator of numerous exhibitions around the world. He wrote several books about and articles about contemporary African culture and politics.
Wassa Wassa Promo
Dublin based collective Wassa Wassa features a colourful stage show of West African percussion, song and dance. With members from around the world who share a common passion for rhythm Wassa Wassa add their own contemporary twist to the traditional compositions of West Africa with really exciting results.
Lead by percussionist Niall Delahan- Wassa Wassa features 22 drummers, singers & dancers each with a unique contribution to the richness of musical talent and passion for African Drum & Dance that is the collective. Having trained and performed with a range of West African Masters such as Baboura Bangora, Amara Kante & Abdoulaye Camara - Wassa Wassa’s colourful stage shows have a powerful presence that never fail to delight.
Wassa Wassa also provide a range of percussion and arts workshops to schools, festivals, corporate and community organisations and will be leading out the drum workshops on 21st May for Africa Day 2011.
Pathways to Africa Concert for Africa Day marks a long-awaited collaboration for the group with West African Master Drummer-Nansady Keita whose talent and well-earned reputation as a world class djembe-master make this a hugely anticipated event by all involved.
For more information please visit http://www.wassawassa.ie
Dub Investigation
Biography
Dub Investigation are an Irish roots, reggae and dub outfit. They originally formed in 2007 after a chance meeting at a music festival. Dan Taliras and Larry Ojelade form the basis of DI. Their first EP release, Dub City Vol.1 was released online in 2009 to critical acclaim. Later in 2008, they formed their own label: DI Studio. Since then, they have worked with a number of well known artists throughout Ireland and across Europe. The band are heavily involved in Ireland's growing bass and conscious music culture. As with any working band, the live line-up has always been flexible, with contributions from well known vocalists and musicians from the Irish roots scene. The band are well known for their slick production quality and authentic vocal stylings and have satisfied large audiences in many of Ireland's well known music venues and featured in the recent Dub Conference tour at venues across Ireland.
For more information please visit: http://www.dubinvestigation.com
Biography of Nansady Keita
Nansady Keita is a Guinean djembé-fola (djembe player) and nephew and likely successor to internationally renowned djembé-master Famoudou Konaté. Nansady’s powerful performances have wooed audiences across the globe and he is considered to be one of the finest West African Percussion performers and teachers alive today.
Nansady is from the Malinké ethnic group, and comes from Sangbaralla, a village near Kouroussa, in the Hamana region of Guinea. Nansady has performed and taught around the world (USA, Holland, UK, France, Germany, Japan, Sweden, Spain) and toured with Famoudou Konaté's ensembles to Japan and Europe . Nansady features on six of the CD's Famoudou has released including most recently Hamana Namun. Nansady is a member of the traditional West African performance group 'Hamana Kalu' (who released CDs in 2008 & 2010) in Guinea-Conakry, and he leads three British based ensembles in the UK, Nansady Keita's Ensemble (consisting of Guinean musicians based in the UK), Funkama, and Meereeya Bedeh.
Djembé-master Famoudou Konaté says about Nansady, "The workshops and performances that Nansady Keita offers magnificently illustrate the one-of-a-kind musical tradition of the Malinké in Guinea. Together with the fine combination of traditional ability and professional experience he is an ideal and suitable representative for the culture of our people."
Nansady started drumming very young on a tin can, and at the age of 8 received his first djembé (West African Drum). Soon he began studying with djembé-master Djoumeh Camara, later joining his group and travelling locally to perform at traditional parties and festivals. After Djoumeh’s death Nansady took his own group to the Malinké towns of Guékédou and Macenta (near the Liberian border) to work. It was during this time (around 1997) that the world-renowned djembé-master, and Nansady’s uncle, Famoudou Konaté sent a messenger to ask Nansady to return to the village as Famoudou wanted him to go to Guinea's capital, Conakry, with him to teach non-African students Malinké rhythms. This was the start of an ongoing arrangement between Famoudou and Nansady where Nansady taught at Famoudou's annual percussion workshops. In 2007 Nansady started his own annual Guinea workshops. Each year Nansady performs for the international students at Famoudou’s winter percussion workshop in Conakry, Guinea.
In 1999 Nansady began the Conakry based ensemble ‘Les Petits de Hamana’, consisting of Malinké djembé-folas (Nansady Keïta, Sekouba Keita, Solo Keïta, Sebé Kourouma, Sekou Kondé and Sayon Camara) from villages in north-east Guinea who met through Famoudou Konaté. The group performed at events throughout the city. Over the passing years the group evolved as some members moved overseas (Sekouba and Solo to Japan, and Sebé to Germany) and newcomers replaced them, and Nansady decided to change the name to ‘Fankabah’ meaning ‘great power’ in Malinké. 'Fankabah' recorded a CD in 2007, a project initiated and led by Nansady. Nansady founded a new group in Guinea, 'Hamana Kalu' (CDs released May 2008 and 2010).
A truly impressive and professional international star-Nansady is an inspirational ambassador for African Culture and Traditional Music across the globe.
For more information please visit: http://www.nansadykeita.com
Inkindi n'Inganzo –Biography
Inkindi n'Inganzo is a Dublin based Rwandan groupe created by young Rwandan ladies (aged 16-31) who used to dance in Inkindi in Brussels and Inganzo in Ivory cost. You could say it is a merger of these two groups.
We started this Rwandan dance group as a way to keep our culture alive since we left our countries very young and want to let the countries we live in know that there is more to learn about Rwanda than the Genocide and all the negative things that have happened. We have a beautiful culture and it's the only thing that keeps us with a smile on our faces despite of all we went through.
Our goal is to promote Rwandan dance and also to embrace the culture of the country we now live in. We dance Traditional dances from everywhere in Rwanda and also to a little bit of music from other countries as we don't want to stick to our culture only. The group has 6 members in Dublin and we’re looking forward to growing by welcoming Irish dancers and any others who might be interested in trying/bringing something new to the group.
So far we have participated in the Africa day and the Dun Laoghaire Festival of World Cultures and many smaller gigs for the Africa Centre. We also had a successful show in the Mezz, Temple Bar back in November 2010.
We’re really looking forward to performing for you all for Africa Day 2011!