| Whatever you might have heard about Afrikadey!, Calgary’s annual celebration of African arts and culture, the festival is about much more than cultural diversity.
According to festival producer Tunde Dawodu, the week-long festival is mostly concerned with redefining our needs as a society, and reevaluating our blind acceptance of the dominant North American way of life in order to consider alternative systems of civilization.
These may sound like the loftiest of goals, but with the festival celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, it’s possible that Dawodu is slowly seeing his vision come into being. Originally from Nigeria, Dawodu has lived in Calgary for years, and he speaks frankly about his concerns with the technological culture that much of the world has adopted, particularly when he says that we have mortgaged what is essential to us as human beings in order to indulge our more materialistic tendencies.
"The arts and music in Africa are equally as important as technology in the West," explains Dawodu. "If we can find a way to integrate both, then at the end of it, we all as human beings can say we’ve achieved something together. There’s this tendency to see technology as the only thing that is human, but the other thing about humanity is immaterial. If we want to talk about what is really essential about us as human beings, it’s the arts."
In order to tap that part of ourselves that we so often deny, Dawodu and his colleagues continue to bring in outstanding musicians and visual artists to enrich our experience. This year, the first-rate musical lineup includes the likes of pop sensation Papa Wemba, the improvisational genius of Alpha Yaya Diallo, the a cappella wizardry of Black Umfolosi, the percussive mayhem of Montreal’s Umurisho Rhythm Burundi Drummers and the popular Toronto hip-hop artist Maestro.
All these artists will perform at Prince’s Island Park on Saturday, August 18, but they will each perform a concert of their own as well, at either Quincy’s or Emerald Café, on July 17 and 18.
Dawodu seems reluctant to pick a favourite from that group, but when pressed he says that he expects great things from Diallo and his 12-piece band.
"In terms of creative music, I’m looking forward to Alpha. I think Alpha will surprise everybody, especially people who come (to see) Papa Wemba. Papa Wemba is pop, but you have to give people what they’re looking for."
Wemba may be the most accessible artist at this year’s festival, but Diallo provides the best evidence to back up Dawodu’s assertion that African music is pure jazz improvisation. Dawodu notes that despite a huge global interest in "world" music, many people are still reluctant to listen to anything that doesn’t sound familiar. He hopes that Afrikadey can help people find a new way to listen to music without having it labeled first.
"Listen to the music deeply, intensely, and you’ll be surprised by how the instruments are (played) together, and then you’ll see the connections with other music.
"The perception that we need to change is the limitation that we tend to put (on) our listening... and once we can get over that, we can decide to see the commonality in various world musics."
There are connections with other arts, too. This year’s festival includes a literary symposium, called African Voices, on Sunday, August 12 at Emerald Café. And, once again, the Uptown Screen will host a film screening in conjunction with Afrikadey! Everyone’s Child, a Zimbabwean film that deals with the issue of children being orphaned by parents who have died from HIV and AIDS, will be shown on Monday, August 13 at 7 p.m.
In visual arts, the Nova Gallery and The Centre Gallery will present a joint exhibition of the Osogbo artists. Including many of Nigeria’s most renowned painters, the exhibition runs from August 13 to 24.
Dawodu hopes many people will come together at Afrikadey! and begin to understand one another a little better – although it offers much in the way of entertainment and edification through performances and workshops, he believes it holds a deeper purpose as well.
"It’s more than entertainment, it’s more than music. It’s a sort of spiritual awakening in a way."
For more information on Afrikadey! events and schedules, check the festival Web site at www.afrikadey.org or call the office at 234-9110. |
