'African Weekender'

From Friday 24th - Sunday 26th November 2017, a new cultural celebration took place in the North of Birmingham!
African Weekender, hosted by the Ifa Yoruba Contemporary Arts Trust is a three-day festival dedicated to celebrating African dance, music, storytelling, visual art and performances from some of the finest artists Birmingham has to offer.
Kick-starting at The Barton Arms Pub, Grosvenor Road Studios and finishing at The African Village, the weekender pays homage to artists deriving from the North of the city and serves as an inspiration to the next generation growing up in the area.
The weekender is the brainchild of double Grammy award-winner Lekan Babalola and fellow musician, Kate Luxmoore. Their vision erases negative stereotypes on a flourishing culture - it commits to telling a funky, sophisticated account of Africa’s past, present and future.
As well as promoting culture, the festival also wants to highlight the importance of family bonding in communities, as Lekan explains:
“There is no way you can promote Africa without family. It’s all about family ties.”
The last day of the festival specifically focused on familial culture and incorporated elements of performance, storytelling by Usifu Jalloh aka The Cow Foot Prince and dance lessons was provided entertainment for all ages.
Lekan and Kate also recognised the loss of BAME art in the north of the city, and vow to reinstate its former glory -
“We have to reflect where we live, which is North of Birmingham. Since the Drum has closed, we now stand as the cultural curators in the area in an edutainment way. We don’t want to make it boring for people, but yes, the art is very high quality from artists who have worked all over the world but reside in Birmingham and in the UK.”
This is a chance for everyone, regardless of age, background or class to connect with the rich legacy of African culture, both old and contemporary.

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This is lovely