Following several months of regular conversations on social media platforms, Africa’s premier performing arts event, known as ‘Ubumuntu Art Festival’ is around the corner. The meticulously curated art performances and showcases will run for two days for about six hours in total from July 16 - 17. The seventh edition has a theme dubbed ‘Rebirth: I can, I must, I will’, where artists from over 18 countries will connect with the world through a virtual event to celebrate humanity. This year’s festival will feature collaborations by artists from Switzerland, Germany, Bosnia, the USA, Egypt, Zimbabwe, Belgium, Sri Lanka, Morocco, Belgium, Uganda and more. The event, which will take place virtually for the second time due to the effects of Covid-19 was changed to Ubumuntu Virtual Arts Festival in 2020 for live-streaming. According to the festival’s founder and curator, Hope Azeda, they have remarkably managed to give life to the festival regardless of the difficulties to plan events in uncertain times of the pandemic. “Regardless of the formidable backdrop, we have learned to receive each day as a gift. We have heard to therefore re-situate, re-shift and re-create around the uncertainties of Covid-19,” she said. Ubumuntu Arts Festival has been sharing regular content and leading conversations via its social media platforms. Content such as #CreativityUnlocked on Mondays, #HomeChatsWithSonia on Wednesdays, and #Homelessness on Fridays in partnership with Keiga Foundation are featured regularly. “Social media has been a good platform for us to stay connected with the world, especially the young generation, who are our top target for our stories...,” Azeda pointed out. Rebirth is like a cleansing, like a new beginning,” said Kirven Douthit-Boyd in homechatswithSonia. The festival was first held in 2015 and happens annually following the last week of the 100 days commemoration of the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi. It aims at creating an avenue where people from different walks of life can come together and speak to each other about our shared human experiences in the language of art.
