AFRICA, WHAT’S UP? | Festival Residency

January - February 2020 — Multi-Disciplinary

This year the Antigel Festival in Geneva celebrates a decade of bringing international music and performances to unusual venues across the city in the dead of winter. For the fifth year running, SHAP SHAP is organising the curated music and performance residency platform, AFRICA, WHAT’S UP? within the context of the festival.

SHAP SHAP’s Mélanie Rouquier has been collaborating with the South African arts collective CUSS since 2016 on this platform, which aims to foster the promotion of emerging and off-the-grid artists from South Africa and facilitate global dialogues and creative collaborations.

The AFRICA, WHAT’S UP? residency has become an important opportunity for artists to connect and collaborations to germinate. The 2020 residency will include exchanges in Johannesburg and Geneva.

JOHANNESBURG 20-26 January 2020

During the 2019 residency CUSS met and established common points of interest with Swiss musicians Maité Chénière AKA DJ Mighty and DJ Bone Black. The artists will now develop their collaboration during a week-long residency in Johannesburg before traveling to Geneva for the second leg of the residency. While in Johannesburg, DJ Might and DJ Bone Black will work with the CUSS collective and DJ Dokta Spizee to produce music and visual work as well as get to know the local context and initiate artistic research. They will also spend time with Desire Marea from FAKA exploring queer culture and politics in their respective contexts. The visiting artists will play at Kitcheners in Johannesburg on 22 January.

GENEVA 28 January – 2 February 2020

This residency aims to give time and space to guest artists for meetings, discussions, exchanges, round-tables, research and artistic actions around issues related to creation in difficult contexts, freedom of expression, interconnected issues of micro/macro politics, gender, racism, culture, education, economics, human rights and globalization.

Participating artists: Kaïsha Essiane (Gabon), Tidiani N’Diaye (Mali/France), Agathe Djokam (Camaroon), Desire Marea (South Africa), DJ Candii (South Africa), DJ Griffit Vigo (South Africa), Klein (UK), DJ Mighty (Switzerland), DJ Bone Black (Switzerland), CUSS (Jamal Nxedlana, Lex Trickett, Ravi Govender and Zamani Xolo AKA Dokta Spizee) (South Africa).

The residency artists will participate in the Antigel festival through two curated programmes:

BAMAKO, WHAT’S UP? 31 January &1 February 2020 at TU-Théâtre de l’Usine Geneva

Curated by Tidiani N’Diaye, choreographer and founder of BAM Festival Bamako. This dance programme showcases three solo works by Kaïsha Essiane, Tidiani N’Diaye and Agathe Djokam. Agathe has been awarded a Pro Helvetia Johannesburg studio residency and takes part in the festival residency as a first phase of her own residency. Agathe will perform her piece Energie, which transcends life’s complexities with flashes of hip-hop, contemporary and traditional African dance.

JOHANNESBURG, WHAT’S UP? 31 January at Palace St Gallen & 1 February 2020 at Grand Central

Curated by CUSS, this music programme includes live performances by Desire Marea and Klein and sets by DJ Candii, Dokta Spizee and DJ Griffit Vigo.