Fesman III. A global celebration of african culture

• Author: René Massiga Diouf
• Position: Journalist with Senegalese National Television
• Pages: 21-23

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1http://black world

festival.com /wp/en/

spirit/forew ord/

2http://artsb eat.blogs.

nytimes.com/ 2010/12/0

7/world-fest ival-of-

black-arts-a nnounces-

lineup/

FESMAN III – A

GLOBAL CELEBRATION

OF AFRICAN CULTURE

literature, scul pture, architecture and urban cul-

ture. Braz il, “a count ry rich wit h artistic cro ss-polli-

nation and cultural diver sity” and with some 80

million in habitants of Afric an descent, was inv ited

as the gues t of honor. So me 200 Brazilian artists

showcased Brazilian he ritage, arts, traditions, mu-

sic and cuisine thro ughout the Fest ival.

The 2010 Festival “conveys a ne w vision of Afr ica

as free, proud, creative and optimist ic” and em-

phasized “dialogue betwee n peopl es and cul -

tures,”1according to the event organ izers. Mr.

Kwame Kwei-Armah said the Festival was, “about

the Africa we w ant to create for tomorrow. I t’s

about artists across disciplines talking about the

future of their art form.”2He noted that a m ulti-

disciplin ary festival such as Fesman was im por-

tant becau se “art can b e a magnificent ca talyst for

debate on any subje ct… we are using these a rt

forms to ar ticulate a new African identit y, to artic-

ulate Af rican renaissa nce.”

The opening ceremony, w hich took place in the

Léopold Sé dar Senghor sta dium on 11 Decem ber

2010, set t he tone of the Festi val, highlighting the

richness of Africa n cultu re. Reno wned Afr ican

artists such as Manu Dibango, Toumani Diabat e,

Angélique Kidjo, Baaba Maal, Ismaèl Lô and

In Decembe r 2010, Senegal set the sta ge for a

global celebration of the wealt h and diversity of

African tr aditions, culture an d ach ievements,

bringing together a rtists and int ellectuals from

dozens of Afric an and African

diaspora

countries ,

including th e United States, Brazil, Ha iti, France

and Cuba. The Festiva l was an invitation for all

those who share a common African heritage to

showcase the richn ess and variety of African cul-

tures. As the Festival ’s Artist ic Direc tor, Britis h

playwrig ht and actor, Kwam e Kwei-Arma h put it,

the Festi val was “an exercis e in askin g fundamen-

tal questions about Africa’s p lace an d how it re-

lates to the rest of the world and how it inten ds to

move its elf into the 21st and 22nd cen turies.”

The expansive program , which reflect ed the

theme of the Festival – Afri can Renewa l, Cultural

Diversity and African Unit y – was broad and di-

verse, ran ging from moder n and traditi onal musi-

cal concer ts and dance shows to pla ys, exhibi-

tions, fashion shows, literary cafés and conferences.

An unprece dented line-u p of artists, actors, musi-

cians, and c reators were featured, representing 16

disciplin es, including, th e visual arts, photogra-

phy, dance, theatre, m usic, design, fashion, cr afts,

For three weeks at the end of Decemb er 2010, Dakar , Senegal, was the cultural capital of Af rica in its ro le

as host to the Third Wor ld Black Arts F estival – also known as FESMA N III. The even t attracted som e 3,200

participa nts, includin g several h eads of stat e, as well as accomplis hed artists and creators from 80 co un-

tries. A celebration of African ar ts and cultur e, the Festiv al offered a rich program of conferenc es, exhibi-

tions and musical and cu ltural e vents. In this article , René Massiga Diouf, a journalist with Senegalese

National Television offers a ta ste of what was on of fer.

History of the Festival

The First World Festival of Black Arts was set up in 1966 in Dakar by

Senegal’s fir st Pres ident Léopold Sé dar S enghor and was o rganized

around the theme, “Significance of Black Art in the Life of People and for

the People.” It was an opp ortunity to ce lebrate African creativity and “to al-

low ar tists of blac k origin to be known a nd appreciated in an atmos phere

of tolerance, mutual este em and intel lectual fulfillmen t.” The second

Festival took pl ace in Lagos, Nigeria i n 1977 around the theme, “Black

Civilizat ion a nd Ed ucation.” Many eminent persona lities from across the

globe pa rticipated i n each of these prior events.

African Renaissance Monument, Dakar, Senegal.

Bronze statue designed by Pierre Goudiaby.

Photo: Montillot