NEWSLETTER JULY 2001

Dear Readers,

Don t forget that full details of events outlined in the newsletter can be found on www.africultures.com. As we are unable to translate all of the pages on the web site, some of the links are to French pages. If you really can't make head nor tail of them, and feel they are important to you, please let us know.

The newsletter is compiled from the Diary, Grapevine and the French Weekly Newsletter. Although we aim to provide as much information as possible, the newsletter has to be a subjective summary of what's currently happening on the African cultural scene that we think might be of interest to English-speaking subscribers. If you have any questions, suggestions, or news that you think might be of interest, please don't hesitate to contact us at [email protected].

Happy reading.

WHAT'S NEW ON AFRICULTURES.COM

A new batch of articles is now available on the Africultures English website.

AFRICAN PHOTOGRAPHER(S): Olivier Barlet's Editorial "The endogenous gaze"; "Karmen Geï" by Joseph Gaye Ramaka (Senegal), film review by A Mensah; "You have to be inside something to change it": Interview with Simon Njami, "Nigeria: the photographic giant", by Erika Nimis; "Koudou, the foiled-tographer", by Ananias Leki, Ivoirian photographer; "Lomé's street photographers have got the blues" by Guy Hersant; "Press photographers in Benin" by Monique Phoba; "The photographic studio: a social testing-ground" by Jean-François Werner; and "I have to be a jack-of-all-trades": interview with Beninese photographer, Erick Ahounou, by Olivier Barlet.

MASA 2001 - THE LIVING ARTS IN AFRICA: "The Challenges of African Design" by Michel Amarger.

FESPACO 2001 - THE ROLE OF MUSIC IN BLACK FILM : "African cinema beyond the musical" by Michel Amarger

Don't forget to keep checking the English homepage for new translations from previous issues http://www.africultures.com/indexbis_engl.htm.

After a three-month trial, Africultures is moving to more reliable server. The process has been a little slow since the Africultures website is rather big (200 MB) but this should solve problems with inaccessible pages etc. We're sorry about the inconvenience but it WILL be sorted soon. In the meantime, should you have any problems when opening certain pages, click on "Reload" and they should come up.

AFRICULTURES PARTNER EVENT
Theatres d'Outre-Mer at Avignon, 6 - 28 July, Avignon Theatre Festival. The Chapelle du Verbe Incarne is hosting TOMA 2001 with performances, debates, lectures, discussion groups and round tables. Organised by Africultures' Sylvie Chalaye. The full programme is available on www.africultures.com/partenaires/toma.htm.

AFRICA: THE ISSUE OF IDENTITY
Africultures is currently working on a Dossier about this rather controversial issue and would like to hear from any readers who have something to say about it. You can post your comments on the forum page on the web site or send us an email.

CALL FOR CONTRIBUTIONS
- In collaboration with the "Messe Dresden", the Association Worldmuseum of Percussion-Instruments Dresden is organising exhibitions, concert, and sale of instruments during the three days of the coming music-fair "Sounds", to be held 14 - 16September, in Dresden, Germany. African musicians and groups are invited to paricipate in the event. A large performance area has been made avalaible at no charge.
http://www.messe-dresden.de, http://www.percussion-museum.de

CONFERENCES

- France: Differences dans la civilisation, 4 - 7 July, Cannes. Second European congress for human sciences and societies. Contact: [email protected].
- Switzerland : Kua and Himba - two traditional peoples in Botswana and Namibia at the dawn of the new Millennium, 4 April - 16 September, Geneva. www.ville-ge.ch/musinfo/ethg.
- Austria: Caribbean Critical Cultures, 4 - 7 July, Institute for Social and Cultural Anthropology, University of Vienna, Vienna.
- UK: The participation and representation of ethnical minorities in the public space, 6 - 7 July, University of Bristol. www.bris.ac.uk/Depts/Sociology.
- UK: Representing Cultures, organised by International Networking Events to take place in July 2001, under the direction of Alan Durant. The seminar examines the contemporary ecology of cultural imagery, and asks: how great a contribution is made to mutual understanding by specific policies for representing cultures? Carisse Hewer, Temporary Promotions Assistant, International Networking Events [email protected]

FINE ARTS

- Check out the Africultures exhibitions online at http://www.africultures.com/expo/expos.htm

- For information on exhibitions at the Musee National des Arts d'Afrique et d'Oceanie, consult www.musee-afriqueoceanie.fr

SUMMARY OF EXHIBITIONS ALREADY PRESENTED

- France: " Dessins d'Afrique et d'Asie ", by Andre Maire, Musee des annees 30, to 4 August, Boulogne-Billancourt.
- Switzerland: 5000 years of human figures, 2 April - 15 October, Geneva.
- Ethiopia: Exhibition of works by Ethopian artists at the Taitu International Art Centre in Addis Abeba.
- USA: Uganda's International Art Renaissance, 1 May - 31 March 2002, The Art Room, Fine Arts Center for East Africa, San Francisco.
- Online exhibition: Works by 35 African artists from around the world. Www.africaserver.nl/kunstcultuur/index_uk.htm.
- USA: Uganda's International Art Renaissance, 1 May 2001 - 31 March 2002, The Art Room, San Francisco. East Africa's visual history is redefined y international expansion of Uganda's post-war art renaisance. Leading artists of this movement offer renewed perspectives for their growing global audience in the 21st Century. Featured artists include James Kitamirike, Dan Sekanwagi, David Kibuuka, Bruno Sserunkuuma, Fred Makubuya and Derek Kaggwa. Exhibited works are scheduled to change periodically during the exhibition. www.theartroom-sf.com
- USA: Encounters with the Contemporary, Smithsonian National Museaum of African Art, Washington. 7 January 2001 - 6 January 2002: Recent Acquisitions; to January 2002: Beautiful bodies: Form and decoration of African Pottery; to 14 October 2001: In the presence of spirit: African Art from the National Museum of Ethnology, Lisbon. www.si.edu/nmafa.
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- Italy: The 49th Biennale in Venice will host "Authentic/Ex-centric: Africa in and out of Africa", curated by Salah Hassan and Olu Oguibe, 6 June - 4 November. The exhibition will include works by Willem Boshoff, Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons, Godfried Donkor, Rachid Koraichi, Berni Searle, Zineb Sedira and Yinka Shonibare.
- Spain: Africas: the artist and the city, to 15 September, CCCB, Barcelona. This exhibition aims to show the vitality of contemporary African art and takes a look at how this vitality is related to the steady urbanisation of the African continent. Includes works by artists from Dakar, Abidjan, Harare, Lagos, Johannesburg, Cape Town, Paris and London. The exhibition is one of the main events in the Barcelona Art Report. Debates and other cultural events will also be held throughout the summer. www.cccb.org, [email protected].
- - Germany: The Short Century: independence and liberation movements in Africa, 1945-1994, to 29 July, Haus der Kulturen der Welt, Berlin. Works by around 50 African artists. Okwui Enwezor (Nigeria/New York) is curator and will also head the next Documenta de Kassel. The Short Century is considered one of the biggest exhibitions on this subject to be held in Germany and will be accompanied by film, theatre and music events. Check out the full programme on www.hkw.de and www.theshortcentury.com. Article in the next Africultures issue.

- France: Afrique 2001, to 31 August, municipal libraries, Paris. For further information contact [email protected]
- France: Les Dogons du Mali, 8 June - 8 July, Paris. The co-op shop, Anthropo, has organised this exhibition including sculptures, beads, weaving and photos.
- France: La Goutte d'Or en Fete, 30 June - 8 July, Paris. This interdisciplinary festival is held in the Goutte d'Or neighbourhood in the 18th arrondissement in Paris (which has a large African population). It is run by local associations and inhabitants and will host a number of African guest artists.

FRANCE
- Islam Zian Alabdeen, Soudanese painter, 5 July - 12 August, Galerie Agbe & Gbalicam. Islam Zian Alabdeen uses a fertile imagination, and heightened sense of colour to depict ordinary people and animals in extraordinary situations.
- Un art populaire, to 4 November, Fondation Cartier pour l'art contemporain, Paris. Works by round 50 artists from Europe, Africa, Asia and North and South America, including Kane Kwei (Ghana), Cheik Ledy and Moke (DRC). www.fondation.cartier.fr.
- Zimbabwean sculptors and painters, to 13 July, Galerie Art-Z, Paris. www.art-z.net.
- Terre d'Empreintes, Senegal Rurart, to 20 December 2001, Rouille. Exhibition of works by Senegalese artists, Semi Camara, Serigne M'Baye Camara, Viye Diba, Ibrahima Konate. www.rurart.org.
- Andre Maire: Dessins d'Afrique et d'Asie, to 4 August, Musee des annees 30, Boulogne-Billancourt.
- Angers: Herve Di Rosa, 4 July - 16 September, Centre Regional d'Art Textile. Di Rosa has lived and worked with Zulu craftspeople in Ghana, Benin and Ethiopia, exploring new techniques and materials. His works tell the story of the people of these countries.

INTERDISCIPLINARY
- Nigeria: Banni Samay, to 29 July, Centre culturel franco-nigerian, Niamey. Photographs by Jean-Piere Estournet taken during two trips to Nigeria during which he stayed in three villages in the Zarma region.
- Germany: Afrikanisches Kultur-und Filmfestival, Osnabrüeck, to 8 July. www.osnabrueck.de/afrika.

PHOTOGRAPHY

- France: Grand Boubou, 28 June - 28 July, Facteur Celeste, Paris.

FILM

Bite the Mango Film Festival, 21-29 September 2001, The National Museum of Photography, Film & Television is hosting Europe's leading festival for Black & Asian film for the 7th time this year. For screening in the 2001 Festival, films can be fictional, experimental or documentary and can be any length. British fictional short films will be automatically considered for the Best of British Awards. In 2000 winners for the Jury and Audience Award were "This Bastard Business" by Sean Hogan & Navin Chowdhry. [email protected] or www.nmpft.org.uk

Fugard play comes to the screen. Moonlighting Filmmakers is currently in pre-production for the screen adaptation of an Athol Fugard play, Valley Song. The film, which will be directed by Harry Hook and produced by Little Bird, is to be shot on location in the Western Cape and Johannesburg later this year. Valley Song is about the story of a young South African woman who longs for the big city and of her grandfather farmer rooted in the past

CAN (Cinema Numerique Ambulant), an association that aims to increase the distribution of DVDs in African villages will be operating in July and August and has already obtained a video projector, generator and screen on loan. The association has purchased a vehicle, sound system, DVD player, and VHS camera and will pay for plane tickets and transport costs. CAN is expecting to have the support of Canal Horizon, the CNC, Arte, the Agence Intergouvernementale de la Francophonie, the EU, Transpalux group, Rubini insurance companies and lots of friends!

400 Nigerian professionals at international forum on motion picture and video. Co-organised by the Independent Television Producers Association of Nigeria (IPTAN), the French Cultural Centre and the French Embassy in Nigeria, the first international forum on the Nigerian video and cinema held in Lagos from 31 May to 2nd June 2001 gathered more than 400 Nigerian professionals. During the forum, producers, directors, actors, distributors and journalists had the opportunity to exchange their knowledge and experience with almost 20 foreign professionals from South Africa, Benin, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Zimbabwe and France. The objectives of the forum were to present the abundance of the Nigerian production and enable the Nigerian professionals to establish contacts with their foreign counterparts in order for them to reach the international network of production and distribution. Following this forum, several projects have been elaborated. Contacts: Tunde Oloyede, Chairman of lIP!
!
TAN: [email protected] or David Hivet, French Embassy in Nigeria. Source: African Film & TV

- France: Résistances international film festival, 6-14 July, Foix. 120 films of all genres from well-known and young filmmakers around the theme of resistance fighters, guerillas, immigrants and social exclusion. [email protected].
- South Africa: Encounters, 22 - 31 July, Capetown and 3 - 9 August, Johannesburg. Annual South African documentary film festival. [email protected].
- Zanzibar: 4th Zanzibar International Film Festival, to 14 July, Zanzibar. 40 villages around the island with 100 films and half as many performing artists and musicians, exhibitions, seminars, workshops and a special programme for women and children will host the fourth Festival of the Dhow Countries. www.zanzibar.org/ziff

DANCE

- France: Montpellier Danse 2001, 29 June - 11 July, Montpellier. Including "Musique et danse", Maitres Tambours (Burundi); "Colourful Black and White", Jiri Kylian (Netherlands); "La danse des masques", ritual masks from the Boromo Ko community; and much more. www.montpellierdanse.com

- On tour around France: Yelemba dance company, June - July.

MUSIC

- Check out the Africultures web site for details of latest releases http://www.africultures.com/actualite/sorties/sorties_fr.htm

- For news on concerts around France, consult the www.africultures.com/actualite/concerts/concerts_fr.htm

MUSIC NEWS FRANCE

- France: Lyon Reggae Festival, 6 - 8 July, With guest artists including Pierpoljak, Third World, Tiken Jah Fakoly, Morgan Heritage, Gregory Isaacs, Nuttea, Lord Kossity, Lucky Dube, Janik, K2r Riddim, Lauren Aikten, Mistic Revelation of Rastafari, Daddy Mory, Princess Erika, Bawajafar, Brahim, Bruno Blum, Son del Gazo, Mad Jimitys.
- France: Les Suds à Arles, 9 - 15 July, Arles. Outdoor concerts, music and dance workshops in gardens and the old amphitheatre,. Guest artists include Cie Accrorap (India/France), Kasse Mady Diabate and Bassekou Kouyate (Mali), Faez sisters/La casa de la trova (Cuba), Mahotella Queens (South Africa), Cheikha Rimitti (France/Algeria) and many more. www.suds-arles.com.
- France: Festival de Thau, 20 - 22 July, Meze. Outdoor festival held in the port of Meze. www.fstivaldethau.com.
- France: Jazz'n Fort Medoc, 13 - 14 July, Cussac. Run by the Association Music'Action.
- France: Festival Reggae Sun Ska IV, 23 - 29 July, Cussac. Run by the Association Music'Action.
- France: Nuits Metis, 21 July - 31 August, La Ciotat. Festival featuring concerts, art exhibitions, discussion groups, workshops and more. [email protected].
- France: Curumi (child in the Tupi dialect), 1 - 30 July, Marseille. Puppet theatre with children from different cultures: Greek Macedonian, Albanian Greek, Gypsy, Marseille Mayotte, etc. www.lafriche.org.
- France: Visa Francophone, 6-15 July 2001, Villefranche de Rouergue (near Toulouse). Each year, this summer camp hosts around 200 French artists, singers and musicians from around the world. Participants are offered full board during the festival and the organizers try to find concert bookings around France following the festival.
- France: La Villette Jazz Festival, 29 June - 8 July, La Villette, Paris. Each year, this festival includes a number of African artists.
- France: 9th Festival des Hauts de Garonne, 23 June - 15 July, Hauts de Garonne. www.musiques-de-nuit.com
- France: Reggae Festival, 7 - 8 July, chaumont. Mapuka, Original Roots Reggae.
- France: Le Balthazar: 6 July - Trio Ba Cissoko (Guinea traditional), 7 July - Recontre-Creation Mali Echo System and Yvi Slan. www.lebalthazar.com
- France: Festival "Des Rives, Des Continents", 1, 7, 12 - 14 July, Lille. Neighbourhood festival uniting gypsy, jazz, rap and ragga. Free concerts.
- France: Festival Musiques sur l'Ile, la Prairie Au duc Ile Saint Anne, 3 - 7 July, Nantes. www.festival-ete-nantes.asso.fr
- Ba Cissoko Trio: Paris, Marseille, and Gemenos.
- Positive Black Soul (Hip Hop from Senegal): Paris and Belfort.

ELSEWHERE

- Tunisia: Tabarka Jazz Festival, to 7 July. www.scooporganisation.com
- Cameroon: Pan-African conference on the status of musicians, 3 - 5 July, Palais des congres, Yaounde. With participants from a number of countries. The aim is for each country to set up legislative measures to concerning the status of musicians and create BALPA, an African bureau for preventing pirating. www.fim-musicians.com
- Lascars contre le sida, 1 - 15 July, on tour in the Cote d'Ivoire, Senegal, Mali, Guinea. Their album has recently come out with Loudness Production in partnership with Medecins du Monde. The group is continuing their awareness and prevention campaign.
- Spain: 7th La mars de musicas international music festival, 6 - 29 July, Carthagene. With Mali as guest country. Photographic exhibition, films, food tastings, literary debates, and concerts. www.lamardemusicas.org
- On tour: Techno Issa Bagayogo Feat, Madioko & Mamou Sidibe. 29 June - 11 July, France, Germany and Sweden.
- On tour: Omar Sosa 5 - 7 July, Switzerland and Germany.
- On tour: Cesaria Evora. 1 - 7 July, USA.
- Canada: International Nuits d'Afrique Festival, 12 - 22 July, Montreal. Featuring Youssou N'Dour.
- USA: Africa Out Loud - Lincoln Center Festival, 11 - 19 July, New York. With Youssou N'Dour closing the festival. www.lincolncenter.org.

THEATRE

- Ghana: Pana African Historical Theatre Festival, 27 July - 3 August, Legon - Accra. Over 10,000 participants from 40 countries will take part in the festival. This year the theme is "The re-emergence of African civilisation" and the festival will take a look at "uniting the African family: bridging the gap created by information technology". [email protected]. www.africaonline.com.gh/Panafest.
- Morocco: 2nd Rencontre Internationale de Theatre, 3 - 10 July, Beni Mellal. Run by the Theatre Nass El Comedia association, the festival aims to promote dialogue and cultural exchange between different peoples and civilisations. [email protected]

LITERATURE

- Guyana: Kamalakuli Mato, 5 - 7 July, Kamalakuli. International festival of storytellers. Consult: www.nplus.gf/krakemanto.
- Kenya: Nairobi International Book Fair, 26-30 September 2001. Organised by the Kenya Publishers Association. Contact: [email protected].
- The first literary and film prize of the "kingdom" of Redonda was awarded to South African writer, John Michael Coetzee.
- Prix Boncourt: "La belle Creole" by Maryse Conde has made it to the first round of the famous French literary prize which is to be announced on 5 November 2001. Source: Le Monde, 15 June 2001.
- "Action Africa", the British Council's four-page monthly magazine gives detailed information on the Council's works in Africa. [email protected].
- "Le Courrier Unesco" June 2001 issue has a special report on charity organisations and an interview with Nigerian author, Chinua Achebe. However, the publication (which has been going since 1948) is in danger of being stopped. Le Courrier is published in 28 lanuages, but sales of the French, Spanish and English versions have dropped below 40,000 copies, of which only 2,600 are sold in bookshops. The journal costs Unesco 7,6 million Euros and only brings in 1,42 Euros. A possible merger with "Sources", a journal about Unesco's activities and administration has been discussed. The executive council has put off a decision until sometime towards the end of the year. Source: Le Monde, 12 June 2001.

FASHION

MEDIA
- FREEDOM OF THE PRESS: A Cameroon journalist has received compensation after taking his cse to the UN Human Rights Committee. Albert Mukong, a journalist and human rights activist from Cameroom has received US$ 137,000 from the Cameroon government in compensation for abuse inflicted by the country's authorities.
- Togo: A week without the press. 13 opposition newspapers, including weekly periodicals such as Le Combat du Peuple, Motion d'information and Le Scorpion stopped press in protest against the arrest of the Chief Editor of Le Combat du Peuple. Only Le Soleil and La Nouvelle Opinion de Tchaoudjo (which support the government) and the governmental daily, Togo Presse, went to press during the protest week. Source: Syfia, rap21.
- 6th Arican CreaTV Workshop, 17 - 21 September 2001, Libreville, Gabon. Organised by UNESCO and INPUT (International Public Television) for African television producers, filmmakers, film producers, broadcasters, and other television professionals. The aim of UNESCO and INPUT's joint CreaTV programme is to assure a permanent debate about television in the public interest, while increasing opportunities for local production and regional and international distribution. www.unesco.org/webworld/com_media/creatv.shtml

INTERNET
- www.top-album.com is the gateway to Guyanan music. You can listen to the top Guyanan artists (over 350 titles are available to date) or find information about the scene. The website also has a search engine and database of Guyanan musicians and bands, classed by genre and instrument.
- www.aubenades.org. See information in the Photography section above. The website provides a preview of exhibitions to be held during the Aubenades de la Photographie from 7 July - 5 August.

TELEVISION
- Check the Africultures television pages for details: www.africultures.com/actualite/television/page_tele.htm (in French).

RADIO
- Check the Africultures radio pages for details: www.africultures.com/actualite/radio/page_radio.htm (in French)

Full or partial reproduction in newsgroups of items from this newsletter is authorised as long the source is mentioned. Africultures newsletter. www.africultures.com (online archives). Month x/2001.

AFRICULTURES CONTACTS

Editorial team: [email protected]
Newsletter/Diary/Grapevine: [email protected]
Partners: [email protected]
Webmaster/classifieds: [email protected]