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CHICAGO CELEBRATES AFRICA AT AFRICAN FESTIVAL OF THE ARTS LABOR DAY WEEKEND

CHICAGO-The largest celebration of African art and culture in the Midwest will be held when Africa International House presents the 11th Annual Chicago Tribune African Festival of the Arts, Labor Day weekend, Sept. 1-4, in Washington Park at 55th and Cottage Grove. The hours are 11a.m. to 10p.m. The African Festival of the Arts promises to fully delight the five senses with its resounding musical sounds, dazzling performances, vivid visual artistry, craft making and mouth-watering cuisine.

The Festival, which began as a street fair, has skyrocketed into one of the premier festivals in the country focusing on Africa. Every year, African and African-American artists, artisans and small business owners come to Chicago from all over the globe—from Nigeria, Ghana, South Africa, Mali, Ivory Coast, the Caribbean, and throughout the U.S.—to celebrate Africa and its influence on art and culture worldwide. “Africa has left an indelible imprint on the music, art and culture of civilizations around the world. But at the festival, visitors get to experience authentic African culture firsthand,” said Festival Founder Patrick Woodtor.

The Festival recreates an African marketplace and features more than 200 artists and craftspeople offering arts and crafts, artifacts, collectibles, masks, fashions, jewelry, fabrics and textiles. Additionally, the Festival features a Fine Art Exhibition, a children and family pavilion with a host of intergenerational activities, a food court filled with African and Southern soul food delicacies, a fashion show, and a full line-up of live entertainment throughout the Labor Day weekend.

ALL STAR MUSIC LINE-UP

Some of the biggest names in music-The Ohio Players, Bobby Womack and Hugh Masekela will provide main stage entertainment along with a variety of international and local artists including Fontella Bass, African Roots Tours, Ari Brown Quarter featuring Maggie Brown, Joan Colasso, the Kahil el Zabar Experimental Band, Muntu Dance Theatre and the South African Music Project. “This all star line-up is just a reflection of how African music has influenced a variety of musical styles within the African, Caribbean and African-American communities, and within the global community at large,” said festival curator Kahil el Zabar.

Tribune to Baba Olatunji and Chief Bey

In addition to the musical lineup, Baba Olatunji, the Nigerian drummer and cultural ambassador who introduced the United States to traditional African music and Yoruba culture will receive a lifetime award. The program will include a tribute to Olatunji and Chief Bey, the most respected American Babalawo (Yoruba Chief Priest) in the world.

New Location

This year the festival has moved from the compounds of the DuSable Museum to its new location at Washington Park at 55th and Cottage Grove. According to Woodtor, the new site provides more land that is appropriate for an event of the Festival’s magnitude and allows vendor tents to be arranged along paved pathways. The site includes space that is more level. It is without hills and split-levels, has dedicated space for food vendors, and more shaded trees in case of extreme heat and better grassy areas for audience picnicking.

Festival Theme The theme of the Festival is Renaissance 2000: Black Arts & Culture. “We are celebrating the revival of black art and culture. It is coming to prominence in the new millennium in a new way. The culture has always been emulated by others, but now, Black people are beginning to understand and appreciate the influence African culture has worldwide, said Woodtor.” “That understanding must lead to economic empowerment.

Blacks have generated the culture for a long time but have not reaped any benefits. Music industry artists of the 40s and 50s lost out. Jazz festivals in Europe generate millions of dollars, but who really benefits? The theme Renaissance 2000 speaks to the survival, the re-generation and the economic strength of black art and culture,” Woodtor said. New Fine Artists Internationally renowned Twins Seven Seven will make his Chicago debut as a part of the Fine Art Exhibition.

He is Nigeria’s preeminent artist from the Oshogbo school and has a style whose inspiration drawn from the complexity of Yoruba myths and religious beliefs. The art of Twins Seven Seven is included in the collections of major international museums and galleries. On Saturday, Sunday and Monday, Twins Seven Seven will do onsite demonstrations of his work as well as engage audiences with his deep knowledge of Yoruba ideology and its artistic traditions. Another newcomer to the Fine Arts section is New Orleans-based Marcus Akinlana, who is originally from Chicago where he received his training.

Akinlana has emerged as significant muralists in the past ten years. Collector’s Gallery Festivalgoers will have the chance to examine and purchase new works by Chicago’s emerging and established African-American artists in our Collector’s Gallery. The gallery will include work by artists Melvin King, Dayo Adelayo and Uwa Hunwick. The Weaving Village Festivalgoers can also help stitch the Festival quilt by adding their personal creations to the work of Chicago’s Black Quilter’s Association who join the Festival for the second consecutive year.

African International House Patrick woodtor is Executive Director and Festival prducer of Africa International House USA, Inc. (AIH)/ AIH designs culturally relevant, family-oriented and educationally focused programs to untie the diverse communities of people form throughout the African Diaspora. Other AIH programs include Tastes of Africa, the Pan African Soccer Invitational Tournament, and Heritage Night at the Galleries and Africa Day at the Schools.

The African Festival of the Arts is sponsored by the Chicago Tribune, ABC7, American Airlines, American Family Insurance, Ford, Kraft, Target, Fannie Mae Corporation, GMAC Mortgage, Pepsi, WVON-AM, Citizen Newspapers, Illinois Arts Council, Marshall Fields Project Image, Streetwise, Western Union, Miller Brewing Company, Verizon Wireless, Mobil Oil and Window to Africa. Admission to the African Festival of the Arts is $5.00 for Adults; $3.00 for seniors and children. Weekend passes are available for $15.00.

For more information, call 773-955-ARTS.

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