This year was the fourth year of the Africultures Festival, and this year was my first time attending the event. After years of working in retail on the weekends, I finally have my weekends back with my new Monday to Friday job.
We have been subject to unpredictable weather around the nation. In Sydney, for days it’s boiling hot reaching highs over 30 degrees Celsius and then all of a sudden we get days of non-stop rain. I don’t think we have seasons anymore. We just have boiling hot, really cold and rain.
Last week the weather was fabulous and I was gearing myself up for the Africultures festival on Saturday. Friday started off sunny and whilst I was driving home from work in the evening, the clouds were not promising and by night it was raining heavily. I concluded that the festival would be cancelled, but I went to bed hoping that the unpredictable weather would opt for sunny on Saturday.
I woke up to on and off showers and was disheartened and couldn’t decided whether to go to the festival. I killed a bit of time by running errands and then started driving in the direction of the festival. The 20 minute drive, turned into an intense decision making session of whether I should turn around and go home or just go to the shopping centre and go on a shopping splurge out of disappointment for not going to the festival.
I finally got to the park and I was amazed. Amazed that the rain had not deterred a lot from attending! People were walking freely through the light rain, others were bundled under an umbrella, while others took refuge through the shelters of the stores. Either way, there was a great vibe in the air and I was truly feeling Africa!
I worked the festival checking out stores, performances taking photos and socialising with my dear friend and fellow Africulture Festival virgin Amy Iheakanwa, Style Editor of Haute Fashion Africa and one half of the up-and-coming fashion label Shekudo. We wre amazed to see an array of variety. Different African nationalities being represented in all sorts of ways whether through clothing, food, performance and so forth, all in harmony in the same space catering to all ages. It was little Africa in Australia!
What really tripped me about the day, was this overwhelming wave of creativity flowing around. Everyone Amy and I met, whether friends, facebook friends we had never met or new people we crossed paths with, all cued us in on their up and coming creative projects. I started Afroklectic because I felt like there wasn’t really anyone I could relate to who was African and interested in the creative practice. Now there are too many people, I can’t keep up. It’s inspiring and I love it!
If I decided not to attend, I would have made a very big mistake. The Africultures committee staged an amazing event. I can’t wait for next year!
Since Amy and I explored the festival together, I thought it was only fair that she share her experience with you!
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Amy’s Africultures Experience
Regardless of my late arrival I must say I had a wicked time at the festival. It was top notch to see members from the African community gathering together regardless of the rain and debilitating mud. The sea of vibrant stalls stocking everything from beaded sandals to traditional baby’s attire (oh and the food, The FOOD!!!) brought me back to my trips to Naija-land. Mind you, if it wasn’t for that mud threatening to keep my shoe for its own, I would have boogied down without a care because the tunes were as equally vibrant as the stalls (shout out to the fabulous Emcee Kween G). It was nice to have my mud stomping partner Gilly marching around with me meeting many of the local African creatives all unified by the idea of progression through creativity.
Can I just say that those who made an effort to dress in traditional attire (or traditional with an interpretative spin) brought a proud tear to my eye, from the youngsters to the veterans – it was definitely on point. The success of the event was evident through the bright faces against the dark clouds – and I’m eagerly looking forward to the next one.
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So here are a few images and a commentary from the event.
Tomorrow I will be posting a style post about the event with links to the rest of the photos on our facebook page.
We didn’t get to see these women performance, but loved their attire. There is something magical when Nigerian women bind together wearing the same fabric in different styles. It’s as if you can visually see their emotional bond. It’s very common for bridal parties and I think it’s absolutely beautiful.
Fashion show presenting the cultural outfits from different nations.
Face painting for the kids
This is Chung of Younga. A Taiwanese label which uses of combination of Taiwanese and Cameroonian fabrics made in Taiwanese designs. So there are a lot of dolly dresses, ballet flats, cute prier jackets all at a reasonable price point.
It all started with a trip Claire Liang made to Cameroon. There she fell in love with the fabrics and went back to Taiwan to start this label with her friends. Chung is one third of the label based in Australia.
Amy and I were amazed by Chung’s strive. I can imagine that it’s very hard. Because when you first meet her, you think how and why? I met her late last year at the Africa Konnect sneak peak show. I wasn’t able to flesh out too much about her label, but I was left puzzled. From the on set, it looked like a random girl who has gone to Africa and started a label just because she could. However, yesterday I surely quizzed her and she delivered. She said that they started this label in Cameroon because they fell in love with the fabrics first and foremost. They wanted to make the link with Taiwanese fashion and Cameroonian textiles. As a result they aim to promote fair trading and sustainable human development. They have since expanded their production into Thailand, Sri Lanka and China.
You could see how much she truly enjoys what she does and what is produced. Now that I have more of an understanding for the label, I have more of an appreciation towards it. I know some are not as forgiving. As I said, from the on set, it seems very random.
Amy with the ladies of
Designs from children’s label
Amy repping Africa from head to toe!
PHOTOGRAPHY: Amy & I
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