When Life Happens: HIV and AIDS Arts & Culture Festival
We’re warmed by the notion behind the term ‘When life Happens’, specifically with regards to HIV and AIDS, it takes away the stigma, negativity and fear that cloud the disease, demystifying it into something that does happen, has happened and can happen, to thousands of people around us. In support of those millions of people to whom ‘life happened’ and who are living with HIV and AIDS, make sure to get down to Arts and Culture Festival in Newtown the first week of December, featuring some of SA’s most intriguing cultural artists like choreographers Gregory Maqoma and PJ Sabbagha, DJ Khenzero, singer Fifi and lots lots more… When Life Happens: HIV and AIDS focused Arts and Culture Festival 3rd to 14 December 2008 Newtown, Johannesburg Program follows: VISUAL ARTS EXHIBITION 10am to 5pm daily @ Museum Africa from 3rd to 14th December An exciting exhibition by a group of talented emerging artists, who have each been specially commissioned to create several new works for the 2008 Festival. Artists exhibiting include Phumzile Buthelezi, Happy Dlame, Michel Mhlungu, Yvonne Harvey, Vusi Mfupi, Themba Mofekeng and Mandla Manana. The commissioned artists were invited to contribute new works with the intention of exploring, investigating and communicating their thoughts and perspectives on the current HIV and AIDS situation in South Africa. MURAL In creation from 4th December @ the corner of Miriam Makeba Street and Carr Street, Newtown The visual arts curators for the 2008 When Life Happens Festival, Mandla Manana and Themba Mofekeng, will be creating a new HIV and AIDS-focused wall mural from Thursday, 4th December. Each year, When Life Happens has made a contribution to the growing collection of murals in Newtown. This year, the area’s street children will participate in the mural project. MASS ART INSTALLATION/INTERVENTION 5th and 6th December @ Mary Fitzgerald Square, through the day Bronwyn Lace and a team of performers and artists from the Bag Factory will be creating an exciting and provocative outdoor performance intervention and mass installation artwork. A first for Newtown, this commissioned, site-specific land art installation will unfold and unravel over the course of two days on Mary Fitzgerald Square. Watch that space! PERFORMANCE POETRY AND MUSIC Thursday, 4th December @ The Bassline from 7.30pm till 11pm Over the past four years, this event has grown into one of the highlights of the festival programme, attracting maximum-capacity audiences of free-thinking and spirited revelers and activists. This year will be no different: an insightful, provocative and entertaining party with a message. The musicians, DJs, poets and wordsmiths throwing themselves and their art behind the cause include DJ Khenzero, Fifi, Pokah, Nomsa Mazwai, Ntsiki...
Represent Review: MTV MAMA’s in Jozi
Sadly, we won’t make it all the way to Abuja, but we definitely made up for it at the pre-party in Johannesburg, with our man Reuben “the Matrix” Malema rocking up the VIP suite while shedding copious tears of joy at one of the most successful live HipHop events in South Africa to date. He loved it, and shares his night with us below – click here for Reuben’s partner in crime, Nkateko Siweya’s photostory of the bash…. It’s drizzling and my expectations are under strict check. The last American Hip-Hop “star” whose show I attended sucked big time, the crowd turn out was unimpressive and the songs performed were to a large extent very alien to us. This of cause was Keith Murray, but tonight I will be seeing The Game. Some Background The Game is as typical an American gangster as anybody can ever be: Fast cars, gold chains, a myriad of tattoos scattered all over the body, serial alcoholic, filthy rich negro and very generous philanthropist to the general public; a full on model Al Capone to the bitter end. As the story goes, it all started when Game was 12 years old; a poor Afro-American living in the notorious city of Compton on the west coast of the United States. On his way from school, Game and a couple of buddies came into contact with the godfather of the ogg-Pound, Snoop Dogg, riding around in a hydraulic jacked low ride American muscle vehicle with gin and weed clasped in both hands. The Dogg encourages Game to hold on to his dream of wanting to be a Hip-Hop super star and as they say…all else is history. The Event – All Roads lead to Jozi Upon approaching Ponte City it became apparent that The Game is indeed a much-loved Hip-Hop artist here in Jozi. The roads leading into the Standard Bank Arena were chocker blocked with scenes reminiscent of the motorway chaos in the movie Independence Day! We proceeded at a snail`s pace to the vip parking lot. The tempo rapidly rising, rain pouring down and our hearts violently beating against our rib cages; We have arrived. This one is the MAMA of all Hip-Hop gigs… The Who’s Who of Mzansi’s Hip-Hop scene came out in support of this inaugural concert leading to the first ever MTV Africa Music Awards (sponsored by ZAIN Telecom) to be held in Abuja Nigeria this November. South African nominees HHP, Cassette, The Parlotones and Jozi were the curtain raisers with Y-fm dj’s like Mc-G helping to pump up the mood with their house tunes. With no doubt my favourite performer...
Love Jozi do it again
What more can we say… Yes, we’re proud to say they’re part of our extended family, but damn they never fail to blow us away with their superb sense of innovative style, always keeping us on our toes and filled with renewed vows for our city. Love Jozi we ♥ u. Respec’! This time round it’s all about Jozi being a MODEL CITY… (naaaasss…) this exclusive range of Model City Love Jozi t-shirts is available as part of the Virgin Mobile Pop Up store that will be popping up all over Jozi in the next month and a bit… just click on the flyer below! PS: Brad, don’t forget we need two to represent here in...
Represent Introduces: Anthea Moys
Representah Alana Cremonte is a big fan of performance artist Anthea Moys who is currently dabbling in the inner city… Alana wanted to share the love so that perhaps you too can take a ‘ncane break, a petit pause, una momenta… and smell…the… uh… jacarandas…while reflecting on this mad thing we call life. Sharpile Alana!: Why are so many people so caught up in their day to day fast-forward, that they forget how easy it is to just take a step back, pause and choose their next direction before moving forth? I guess they haven’t even realised that they need this luxury. Whether or not that has to do with the fact that this idea hasn’t been properly marketed with an ad campaign yet, is totally besides the point and I think it was small-minded of you to bring it up. To be fair, life does seem to be moving at a tremendous pace these days. So much so that even if you wanted to just stop and smell the roses, you’d find yourself at the back of the queue and desperately treading water. So, imagine if you had a moment of play forced on you. What if, you were interrupted from your hustle and bustle by “Jozi’s Golden Girls”. A gaggle of grannies, performing a choreographed dance routine in the middle of your city square. Gold and black tracksuits sparkling in the midday sun, good time music as their soundtrack and a young girl in the middle, joining in, almost a part of their world. Anthea Moys is the performance artist whose incredibly relevant work finds her positioned, both figuratively and literally, in the middle of people’s lives. She is constantly daring South Africa to stop and ask, why? The question is, if confronted with some of her work, would you stop and take it all in? At the very least you’d have to commit to a smile, right? Most people find a sigh of relief in her performance art. She doesn’t rely on shock tactics to get her message across, but rather, gently holds that proverbial mirror up to show her audience a piece of themselves they have forgotten. The world has charmed her and she openly admits to being curious of “people in their little worlds”. And that’s what she has consciously worked on showing us, a little glimpse and a “momentary gift” that unites you, so very specially, to anyone else involved. The moment is yours and you can hold your opinion of it close to you heart as you revel in the fact that you are sharing something that will never be recreated, just...
MAMAs nominees – MTV BASE
The website is gorgeous, the range of Pan-African musicians nominated cuts across genres and (stale) stereotypes (no longer relevant in today’s futureforward music industry) and the best part of all, you, the fan, get to vote for your favourite African artists online… SO GET CLICKING ASAP… We’re impressed with the first taste of the MTV Mama’s that will take place on the 22nd November 08 in Abuja, Nigeria… Our only confusing question is how the hell did Coldplay, Alicia Keys and Rihanna make this list??? Maybe it cuts across continents too… Here’s the official PR: MTV Networks Africa have announced the contenders for the first ever MTV Africa Music Awards with Zain (MAMA). The nominations for the inaugural pan-African music awards ceremony were revealed at a VIP soirée at Planet One, Lagos, Nigeria by Alex Okosi, Senior Vice President and Managing Director, MTV Networks Africa and Norman Moyo, Chief Marketing Officer, Zain Nigeria, in the presence of nominees D’Banj, Wahu, DJ Cleo and Naeto C. Selected by an independent voting ‘academy’ of 150 music professionals and opinion formers from 30 countries in sub-Saharan Africa, the nominations for the MTV Africa Music Awards with Zain showcase the wealth of musical talent that Africa has to offer, and provide the ultimate vehicle for young Africans to salute the African and international artists that rock their worlds. Heading the nominee list with 5 ‘nods’ from the MAMA nominations academy are Nigerian R&B duo P-Square (Best Group, Best Live Performer, Best R&B, Best Video and Artist of the Year), closely followed by triple nominees D’Banj (Nigeria) and HHP (South Africa), who go head-to-head in the Best Male and Artist of the Year categories. Wahu (Kenya) and Asa (Nigeria) share the honours as the most nominated female artists with two nominations each for Wahu (Best New Act, Best Female) and Asa (Best Female, Artist of the Year). Topping the country roll of honour with 18 individual nominations is South Africa, closely followed by Nigeria (16 nominations). Kenyan artists scored three nominations: Jua Cali for Best Male and Wahu for Best New Act & Best Female. Ghanaian artists were recognised in two categories: Best Live Performance (Samini) and Best New Act (Kwaw Kese), while Mozambique, Gabon, Tanzania and Uganda all scored one nominee with recognition for Professor Jay (Tanzania), East Africa Bashment Crew (Uganda), Movaizhaleine (Gabon) and Dama do Bling (Mozambique). US, and European artists are represented in three categories with nods to Akon, Rihanna and Alicia Keys for Best R&B, while rappers The Game and Lil Wayne both feature in Best Hip Hop. Prominent in the Best Alternative category are British rockers Coldplay, competing...
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