Jalada Africa, a Pan-African collective, is pleased to announce the inaugural Jalada Mobile Literary & Arts Festival 2017. The festival will happen in 12 towns from 3-31st March 2017.
Jalada Africa was formed in 2013 by writers from Kenya, Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Uganda and South Africa, and currently comprises of writers and artists, of African origin, from the continent and the diaspora. They have since their formation been one of the most innovative collectives around reminding some of us of the most well-known collectives on the planet Wu Tang Clan. Yes I said it, the Jalada Collective is the Wu Tang Clan of African literature. They did this with anthologies that have gone on to win awards.
Jalada yesterday announced that they will be doing a literary festival with a twist. It is the inaugural Jalada Mobile Literary & Arts Festival 2017 that will happen in March. The festival is a hybrid between a traditional place-based festival and a bus tour, and will cover 5 countries and 12 towns: Kenya (Nairobi, Nakuru, Kisumu, Mombasa), Uganda (Kampala, Kabale), DRC (Goma), Rwanda (Kigali) andTanzania (Mwanza, Arusha, Dar es Salaam, Zanzibar).
The festival led by Moses Kilolo, Managing Editor, Jalada Africa will celebrate diversity and create living connections between writers, artists, and diverse audiences in the big cities and small towns across East Africa.
Presented as a series of full-day events, the festival will feature an expanded retinue of panel discussions, literary readings and debates, spoken word and theatrical performances, creative writing and translations master classes, poetry workshops, exhibitions, art installations, and film screenings.
The festival will also incorporate new and imaginative ways of documenting literature and art using mobile-phone mini-documentaries.
The events will feature writers and artists drawn from the Collective, and tens of exciting authors, performers, and thinkers drawn from East Africa and beyond, as well as international voices. The mobile festival will travel over 4500 kms and engage directly with over 10,000 enthusiasts.
The Collective seeks to break boundaries by publishing works that stretch the reach of creative writing, expand the range of reading experiences, and diversify audiences for literature.
The festival partners with Goethe-Institut Nairobi. It is partly funded by the British Council nAnA grant, and is supported by a host of cultural institutions across the region.
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