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What will be the flagship events of African culture in 2020? From the “Voix d'Afriques” writing competition to the World Day of African Culture, to the Dakar Fashion Week, the nomadic Afropolitan Festival in Kigali or the Africa 2020 season. Send your “must-haves” to the address rfipageculture@yahoo.fr. Here are 55 propositions.
January
The 4th edition of the Porto-Novo International Festival took place between January 4 and 12 in Benin, with more than 1,200 masks and a million festival-goers, but also the screening of the first film made in Benin by a Beninese director, Under the sign of Voodoo (1973), by Pascal Abikanlou.
From January 9 to 12, in Ouagadougou, the 5th Soko Festival brought together more than twenty musicians and artists from Burkina Faso, Mali, Ghana and Togo, under the sponsorship of Etienne Minougou, founder of Récréatrales.
At the 28th Suresnes Cités Danse Festival (January 11 - February 2), in the Paris region, hip-hop is merging with international contemporary creation. Salim Mzé Hamadi Moissi from the Comoros questions his attachment to his country and his Arab, African and Indian influences.
Radio France Internationale has created a new literary prize. In partnership with Jean-Claude Lattès, RFI is launching the "Voix d'Afriques" writing competition. The objective is to discover new feathers all over the African continent. You are under 30, you are of legal age, you haven't published anything yet, but you dream of writing a novel? Then you can try your luck and participate in this writing contest until January 15, 2020. The prize will be awarded in June in Paris.
In Belgium, from January 15 to February 1, the Brussels gallery Ambre Congo invites you to discover Congolese painting (1926-1960) under the title De Lubaki à Mode Muntu .
Lend me your dream , this pan-African traveling exhibition designed in Casablanca by the Foundation for the Development of Contemporary African Culture is still showing until January 28 works by artists from all over Africa at the Museum of Black Civilizations in Dakar, at Senegal.
Between January 21 and 26, the International Documentary Festival (FIPADOC) in Biarritz promises " exceptional works selected from all over the world ". Among others, we can observe the work on a fish farm in a Sahrawi refugee camp in the Algerian desert; clear up the mysterious plane crash of UN Secretary General Sweden's Dag Hammarskjöld on the border with Rhodesia in 1961; follow a dozen former Congolese delinquents who have become percussionist musicians in the popular Barumbu district of Kinshasa…
January 24 will be celebrated the World Day of African Culture . Organized by the African Network of Promoters of Cultural Events (Rapec), the date is a tribute to the Charter of the African cultural renaissance, voted on January 24, 2006 by the African Union. Internationally celebrated, Marrakech has been elected the African capital of Culture 2020.
Taking another look at Malian culture is the ambition of a unique festival. The Essonne Mali Festival, sponsored by Oxmo Puccino, is based on a partnership between the department of Essonne, in the Paris region, and Mali. Between January 31 and February 9, it presents numerous events and creations by artists from Mali and West Africa, concerts, exhibitions, dance, theater and film shows.
From January 31 to February 8, the Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival takes place in central France. In the 2020 competition of the largest festival in the world dedicated to short films, there are films from Ghana, Egypt and South Africa, not to mention the special selection "Regards d'Afrique" with a slew of young filmmakers Africans who set "the tone of a new Africa".
February
"Confronter sa fear" is the theme of the 2020 edition of the In Out Dance Festival in Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso. Between February 1 and 9, this international festival is one of the most important contemporary dance events on the African continent. The invited countries: Germany, Benin, Belgium, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Canada, Ivory Coast, France, Ghana, Holland, Israel, Mali, Togo, United States.
In Ségou, from February 4 to 9, the 16th edition of Ségou'Art, the Festival sur le Niger opens its doors under the sign of “Reconciliation & Social Cohesion” with a cultural caravan for peace, giant concerts on the banks of the river Niger, a contemporary art fair, theater, dance, master classes…
" A poem that is not ours ". The first major retrospective dedicated to William Kentridge in a French museum explores all the mediums of the great South African artist: drawing, engraving, sculpture, tapestry, animated film, performance, video installation ... The Lille Métropole Museum in Villeneuve-d ' Ascq (LaM) promises a poetic and critical vision of delicate subjects such as decolonization, apartheid or the role of Africa in the First World War.
A major meeting of the art scene in Africa, the 8th edition of the Investec Cape Town Art Fair, in Cape Town, South Africa, takes place between February 13 and 16. An unmissable international event for artists and the art market to celebrate the art of South Africa and the African continent in general.
The 4th edition of the Afropolitan Festival at the Palais des Beaux-Arts in Brussels, Belgium, invites " artists and the public to celebrate their heroines and heroes ": Fela Kuti, Miriam Makeba, Toni Morrison ... The meeting is proposed between the 28 February to March 1 concerts, films, performances and fashion shows and an exclusive concert by the legendary Congolese group Zaïko Langa Langa which celebrates its 50th anniversary.
March
The Panorama of Cinemas of the Maghreb and the Middle East (PCMMO) will take place from March 3 to 21 in Seine-Saint-Denis, but also in Paris. The 15th edition of the Festival will take us to the discovery of Iran, but will also make a detour through Algeria " with a window on contemporary documentary cinema ".
From March 12 to July 26, the Institute of Islamic Cultures in Paris presents Beliefs, to make and break the invisible . In this exhibition conceived by Jeanne Mercier, co-founder of the Afrique in Visu platform, artists photographers and videographers explore the evocative power of the religions, superstitions and myths of the African continent.
The Arab World Institute offers in nine cultural places The Spring of Arab Dance 2020 bringing together choreographers from Syria, Palestine, Morocco, Egypt, Tunisia ... The launch party will be ensured on March 18 by two hip-hop creations: "Blow "By Karim KH and" Iskio "by Saïdo Lehlouh & Johanna Faye, the closing by French, Tunisian and Algerian performers gathered within the framework of the Little Dance University with a singular choreography, Re / Sources .
In Morocco, the 25th edition of the Tétouan International Festival of Mediterranean Cinema will award its Tamouda prize at the end of March. Between March 21 and 28, 10,000 spectators are expected during this cinematographic event aimed at "reflecting the richness and diversity of Mediterranean cinematographic works".
Until March 22, the Clément Foundation is organizing the first exhibition in Martinique and the Caribbean by Pascale Marthine Tayou. According to the Cameroonian artist, “ Black Forest is not an artistic project, it is an in-live walk on the endless tracks of our existential doubts. "
April
The 36th International Views of Africa Film Festival will take place from April 17 to 26 in Montreal, Quebec. The event sees itself as a benchmark organization for the information and dissemination of cultural productions on Africa, the Creole countries and their diasporas.
It is the most important cinematographic event in Madagascar, organized in association with the French Institute of Madagascar and RoziFilms, between April 17 and 25. The 15th edition of the Rencontres du film court de Madagascar is dedicated to “climate change” and invites all Pan-African directors and producers to show their short films, fictions, documentaries and animations in Antananarivo and several cities in the provinces and compete for the Zebu d 'gold.
Everyone knows Cheops, Tutankhamun and Cleopatra, but who remembers Teti, the Sesostris (I - II and III) or Nectanebo? From April 29 to August 17, at MuCEM, in Marseille, Pharaons Superstars is investigating: why certain kings and queens of ancient Egypt have become international icons.
May
The Museum of the Great War in Meaux is organizing a Tribute to the colonial soldiers from May 8 to August 17. The installation of the association Remem'beur " traces the participation of the colonial troops, their living conditions and the racial prejudices with which they had to face ".
The 73rd edition of the Cannes Festival will take place from May 12 to 23. Since 1975 and the Chronicle of the embers of Algerian Mohammed Lakhdar-Hamina, we are still waiting for the second Palme d'Or won by an African filmmaker. In 2019, with Atlantique , the Franco-Senegalese Mati Diop became the first female filmmaker of African origin to win the Grand Prix in Cannes.
Makay, a Madagascan refuge takes us back to a completely unexplored fortress, valleys of several hundred meters. Located in the southwest of Madagascar, this monumental work of nature and treasure of biodiversity will be presented from May 15 to March 7, 2021 at the Musée des confluences in an immersive exhibition to explore this unknown geological labyrinth.
Mid-May begins the 27th New York African Film Festival (NYAFF), first at the Film Society of Lincoln Center, followed by programming at Maysles Cinema and the Brooklyn Academy of Music's Cinématek. A meeting renowned for its clever blend of contemporary films, cult films and debates with the public.
June
On June 1, a concert by Angélique Kidjo at the Philharmonie de Paris is the starting point for the Africa 2020 cultural season throughout France. The Beninese singer, godmother of the event, will revisit the mythical album Remain in Light of the Talking Heads to transport it to the African continent.
At the beginning of June, we are also expecting the 3rd edition of the Douala Art Fair . In 2019, she had highlighted a hundred works of art by artists from Central Africa under the theme: Flying Over Central Africa : Defeating the clichés .
From June 10 to 14, the 18th Dakar Fashion Week becomes the center of fashion in Africa by celebrating the cultural riches of the continent, but also the emancipation of black women.
The Power Of My Hands . The exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in Paris presents from June 12 to November 1 the works of a dozen women from several countries of the African continent and the diaspora, between memory, family, tradition, religion and imagination.
Ubuntu, a lucid dream is called an exhibition at the Palais de Tokyo, in Paris, under the aegis of Marie-Ann Yemsi. From June 19 to September 13, the works of twenty artists or collectives invest Ubuntu, " a space still infrequented by our imaginations and our knowledge. This term, derived from the Bantu languages of South Africa, combines the notions of humanity, the collective and hospitality ”.
In Yaoundé, Mis Me Binga (“The eye of women”) will celebrate its eleventh edition between June 23 and 27. The International Women's Film Festival unveils " The World seen by them ".
An Africa in color promises the Musée des confluences in Lyon. From June 26, 2020 to March 7, 2021, daily and popular African art takes over the rooms with masks, statuettes and loincloths where color reigns supreme.
July
The 72nd edition of the Avignon Festival will take place between July 3 and 23. RFI will start its theatrical and radio adventure there. It's ok, it's going to be the world ! , a cycle of readings of six texts by contemporary French-speaking authors from Africa, the Near East and the Indian Ocean.
From July 7 to 11, the nomadic Afropolitan Festival settles in Kigali, the capital of Rwanda. This year, the platform for intercultural and artistic exchanges deals with " The emergence of culture and the arts in Africa through gender equality ".
The Africajarc festival will celebrate in July its 22nd edition in the south of France. It all started in 1997, when a troupe of Burkinabè and Togolese artists gave a concert in Cajarc, in this small town located in the Lot. Between exhibitions, literature, dance, theater, music and cinema, the program promises to be always eclectic and centered around African cultures.
In Togo and Benin will take place the 16th edition of FesConte. In late July and early August, the festival offers story-telling and epic song workshops, comedy and slam evenings, storytelling shows for all audiences.
August
In August, in Benin, the West African children's playwriting studio Échafaudages will meet with writers and accompanists in playwriting for young audiences in Cotonou. Initiated by Sudcréa and coordinated by Sedjro Giovanni Houansou, RFI-Théâtre prize, the studio will bring together young people from 16 to 21 years old - from Benin, West African countries, France and Canada - facing professionals. The texts will then be put on the stage thanks to the theatrical devices Didascalies du monde and Ambushes de la scène .
Also in August is expected in the Tunisian city Tazarka the 24th edition of the International Comic Book Fair of Tazarka . Located 66 kilometers south-east of Tunis, it is a historic meeting of the "Ninth Art" on the African continent.
In Accra, Ghana, the Chale Wote street arts festival (“Dude, let's go!”) Usually takes place at the end of August in the fishing district of Jamestown. Two hundred artists (painters, photographers, dancers, acrobats, musicians) from the country and internationally and 20,000 visitors are expected to share the joy and the culture.
September
From September 23 to October 3, the Festival des francophonies Zebrures d'automne will open its doors in Limoges. This essential meeting of French-speaking creation will be strongly imbued with the Africa 2020 cultural season. On this occasion RFI will once again award its RFI-Theater prize. Who will succeed the Lebanese writer Valérie Cachard?
October
In early October, the 31st edition of the Fameck Arab Film Festival continues to promote emerging cinematography. Who will succeed the 2019 Grand Prix awarded to Fatwa , by the Tunisian director Mahmoud Ben Mahmoud?
Founded by Touria El Glaoui in 2013, the 1-54 fair in London has become the most important meeting of contemporary art from Africa and its diaspora. The 2020 edition will take place from October 8 to 11, preceded by editions in Marrakech (February 20-23) and in New York (May 8-10).
The Carthage Cinematographic Days (JCC) traditionally start at the end of October and constitute the oldest film festival in the South promoting the cinema of sub-Saharan Africa and the Arab world. It also defines itself as a laboratory for freedoms. What film will follow the Golden Tanit for Noura dream of the Tunisian director Hinde Boujemaa?
Lovers of African photography meet at the end of October at LagosPhoto. Launched in 2010, the first international festival dedicated to photography in Nigeria organizes exhibitions, workshops and discussions for a month, but also takes up public space.
Until October 25, the Zeitz Mocaa Museum in Cape Town, South Africa, offers Two Together . The exhibition inaugurates a new thematic space for African artists and diasporas: two works, two artists or two subjects enter into dialogue or confrontation on a subject such as the history of the routes of slavery.
November
With more than a thousand publishing houses from more than thirty countries, the Algiers International Book Fair is one of the most important literary events in the region. The 25th edition is expected at the end of October.
At the beginning of November, the Film Africa festival is traditionally held in London, the largest meeting of " the best of African cinema ", a festival organized by the Royal Africa Society.
The next edition of the Kinshasa Sound Fair as part of the Kinshasa International Festival of Sounds is expected in early November. The Fisokin is an event both scientific and cultural contributing to the fight against noise pollution through artistic actions and encouraging the preservation of less significant sounds through workshops, conferences and artistic performances.
Akaa, the contemporary art fair around African creation will organize from November 13 to 15 the fifth edition Also Known As Afrika at the Carreau du Temple, in Paris, for an Africa without borders.
The 41st Festival des 3 Continents (cinemas from Africa, Latin America and Asia) will be held from November 20 to 27 in Nantes. After La femme des steppes, le cop et l'euf , by Wang Quan'an, who will win the 2020 Golden Balloon Prize?
Contemporary Afro-Caribbean thinking will be at the heart of the 3rd Afro-Caribbean Book Fair, from November 28 to December 6. This cultural festival at the Cité du Livre and the Méjanes Library in Aix-en-Provence crosses the arts, music, graphic arts and literature.
December
In Senegal, during the first two weeks in December, the Partcours festival will bring together cultural initiatives to make it a continuous cultural activity. The objective also consists in making “ know the districts of Dakar through the existence of art spaces ”.
Also in December, the 17th edition of the Mantsina-sur-scène theater festival will be in full swing in Congo-Brazzaville. Created in 2003, among others by Dieudonné Niangouna, the festival is today directed by Sylvie Dyclo Pomos.
Send us your “ essentials ” of African culture in 2020 to the address rfipageculture@yahoo.fr.