Africa and International stars prepare to thrill fans at 5th Ubumuntu Arts Festival in Rwanda
The Rwandese merrymakers will experience series of music, dance and drama performances during the fifth edition of Ubumuntu Arts Festival, beginning from the 11th to 14th July.
This edition will kick off with the Ikaze Night Festival opening concert on 11th July, with performances taking place at the Kigali Conference and Exhibition Village.
The dance and music line-up will feature the Street Dancers Company (DRC), Under the Surface (Netherlands), Lilian Mbabazi (Uganda) and Alexander Star (US). Local performers will be Generation 25, Unidance and the National Ballet of Rwanda.
The rest of the event will run at the Kigali Genocide Memorial amphitheater from 12th to 14th July, under the theme, “I Am Because You Are, You Are Because I Am, Together We Are Human”.
Likewise, musicians from around the globe will participate in panel discussions and workshops as well as contemporary dance, theatre and poetry performances that deal with the challenging aspects of human nature and violence, including civil war, mass incarceration, police brutality, and genocide.
This year’s line-up will include performances by groups from Kenya, Malawi, Canada, the UK, Sri Lanka, Rwanda, Uganda, Israel, Turkey, France, South Africa, Tanzania, Mexico, Burundi, DRC, Germany, Austria, and the US.
Speaking on the event, festival founder and artistic director Hope Azeda said, “Not everybody, even fewer in Africa, thinks of the arts as a tool of effective communication or as a platform for solving social problems.”
“The truth is that art played a major role in addressing Rwanda’s immense post-genocide problems, from genocide perpetrators giving truthful testimonies to victims forgiving perpetrators.”
First held in 2015, Ubumuntu Arts Festival holds after the last week of the 100-day commemoration of the 1994 Rwandan genocide. Since then, the festival has promoted performing arts in East Africa and facilitated partnerships and networking opportunities between international and African artists.
