Helen Herimbi
This month, students all over the country have shown us what present-day South Africa is really like. But what does the future look like? And not just that of South Africans, but of the continent at large? Do the ideas that are borne of science-fiction books actually have the potential to happen?
Goethe-Institut South Africa tasked a few creatives with answering some of these questions and the African Futures festival is the result.
Taking place from today to Saturday, this idea comes to fruition through three interdisciplinary festivals in Joburg as well as Lagos in Nigeria and Nairobi in Kenya.
Giving their voices as they pertain to disciplines such as music, film, literature, performance art, fine art and other digital formats, more than 50 guests will grace the festivals.
They range from Spoek Mathambo (South Africa) to Achille Mbembe (Cameroon/South Africa), Jean-Pierre Bekolo (Cameroon) and Faustin Linyekula (Democratic Republic of the Congo).
Celebrated authors Lauren Beukes (South Africa), Nnedi Okorafor (Nigeria), Binyavanga Wainaina (Kenya) and Leif Randt (Germany), will participate in a discussion called Narratives in Science Fiction Literature.
Films like Pumzi, Future Sound of Mzansi, Les Saignantes as well as Afronauts and Crumbs will be screened as part of the film portion of this four-day fest.
Curator, Zanele Mashumi, will host a walkabout at the opening of the See Africa exhibition in Dube, Soweto.
At this pop-up gallery, works by Mbali Dlamini, Thamsanqa Thami Mbenekazi, Albert Ibokwe Khoza, Serge Attukwei Clottey and Nompumelelo Tshabalala will be shown.
Such initiatives are important, as Mashumi commented on the African Futures website: “The value of African art is set to continue rising globally. Within this context, I see my role partly as working to ensure the just representation of Africa and Africanness.”
African Futures will go out with a bang when Mathambo, Nigerian artist, Keziah Jones, Kenya’s own, Just A Band, and more perform at the Alex Theatre in Braamfontein on Saturday.
The fee for this concert is R120 and tickets are available at www.quicket.co.za.
The Goethe-Institut’s African Futures festival takes place at the headquarters of the organisation at 119 Jan Smuts Avenue, Parkwood, Joburg (entrance on Newport Road), from today until Saturday. Unless expressly stated, all events are free to the public. Visit africanfutures. tumblr.com for more information.