Johannesburg will, once again, host South Africa’s premier celebration of the arts when the annual Arts Alive Festival hits the streets and theatres of the City in September for the 20thyear in a row. The city of Joburg launched the Arts Life Festival last week Wednesday at Randlords in Braamfontein. The event which started at 4pm, included a bus ride around the city centre which ended up being short lived as it was smack, bang in the middle of traffic. I missed the whole experience as I’ve kind of been wearing a late comer’s tag in the last few weeks and no pun.
Besides being treated to some Afro Jazz and free drinks, we also had a few speeches to endure about what Joburg has planned, the history of the event and the relationship that Arts Alive has built with other countries, all good I suppose for those into politics. As for me, a self-proclaimed liker of things, I was attracted by the list of performers where names like Lira and Thandiswa were pinned to perform an infamous Jazz on The Lake at Zoo Lake on the 2nd September.
Donald Moatshe
Judging by the presence of Donald (In Denial), Pro (formerly Prokid) there will be something for everyone. They will form part of the celebration as there will also be a youth festival at Mary Fitzgerald Square in Newtown. For ten days in September (1st to the 10th), Johannesburg will be transformed into a giant stage where our artists, actors, directors and musicians can display their formidable gifts to appreciative audiences. Follow @Arts_Alive on twitter for more info or check out “Joburg Arts Alive International Festival” on facebook.
PRO
By: Just Denis
