Picture : "Masa Caroleen" by Music Crossroads, shown during TAG2020

In Zimbabwe, Afrikera Arts Trust organized the TAG2020 festival on October 29 and 30, 2020. The TAG, standing for The Arts Gathering, was a hybrid mix of performances and discussions: both in the presence of a small audience - while respecting sanitary measures - and broadcast live online. From traditional and contemporary dance to percussion concerts, from exciting debates on the artist’s profession in 2020 to film screenings, these two days of rich and varied activities were led by Soukaïna Edom’s fantastic team. You can find all the posters and videos on Afrikera’s Facebook page

Our Ugandan partner Bayimba, for its part, has opted to hold the seventh edition of the Kampala International Theatre Festival entirely online on November 23rd and 24th. Every year, this platform, co-organized with Tebere Arts Foundation, offers development of professionalism among theater practitioners. In 2020, the physical edition has been replaced by virtual events. First, a debate bringing together renowned speakers on creative and disruptive platforms in Africa. Then, a diffusion of images of the previous festivals on social networks to remind the power of theater in freedom of speech. This screening was followed by an online Q&A session. You will find all the info here.

This was also the choice of the Congolese group TACCEMS which organized 100% of the tenth edition of the NGOMA festival, from September 20 to 27, in a digital way. Two strategies were put in place. First, shows and live concerts were produced with the troupes and orchestras from Kisangani. Secondly, TACCEMS collaborated with local TV channels to broadcast shows of its partner in other cities of DRC. Thanks to the efforts of the association, the videos of the shows could be broadcast simultaneously on all partner channels.

Other structures have decided to use art to raise awareness about sanitary measures. This is the case in the Democratic Republic of Congo, with 3TAMIS which aims at a permanent citizen education through its cultural and audiovisual activities. Since September, the organization has been producing ten videos that are broadcast on social networks and on its website in order to raise public awareness about good social behaviors to follow during the pandemic. These videos are in Swahili and are humoristic in the same way than the Bukavu Comedy Club’s comedians. Discover all the videos here.