The World Festival of Black Arts (French: Festival Mondial des Arts Nègres), also known as FESMAN, is a month-long culture and arts festival that takes place in Africa. The festival features poetry, sculpture, painting, music, cinema, theatre, fashion, architecture, design and dance from artists and performers from around the

African Diaspora The African diaspora is the worldwide collection of communities descended from native Africans or people from Africa, predominantly in the Americas. The term most commonly refers to the descendants of the West and Central Africans who were e ...

History

The festivals were planned as Pan-African celebrations, and ranged in content from debate to performance — particularly dance and theatre.

Dakar, 1966

The First World Festival of Black Arts or World Festival of Negro Arts was held in Dakar, Senegal, 1–24 April 1966, initiated by former President Leopold Senghor, under the auspices of UNESCO, with the participation of 45 African, European, Caribbean, and North and South American countries, and featuring black literature, music, theater, visual arts, film and dance. It was first state-sponsored festival to showcase the work of African and African diasporic artists, musicians and writers to a global audience. Participants included historian Cheikh Anta Diop; dancers Arthur Mitchell and Alvin Ailey; Mestre Pastinha, a Capoeira troupe from Bahia;

Duke Ellington Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous jazz orchestra from 1923 through the rest of his life. Born and raised in Washington, D.C., Ellington was based ...

;

Marion Williams Marion Williams (August 29, 1927 – July 2, 1994) was an American gospel singer. Early years Marion Williams was born in Miami, Florida, to a religiously devout mother and musically inclined father. She left school when she was nine ...

; singers Julie Akofa Akoussah and Bella Bellow; calypsonian

The Mighty Terror Fitzgerald Henry (13 January 1921 – 14 March 2007), better known as the Mighty Terror, was a Trinidadian calypsonian. Early career in Trinidad He was born Fitzgerald Cornelius Henry in Anguilla Village, Arouca, Trinidad.

; writers Aimé Césaire,

Langston Hughes James Mercer Langston Hughes (February 1, 1901 – May 22, 1967) was an American poet, social activist, novelist, playwright, and columnist from Joplin, Missouri. One of the earliest innovators of the literary art form called jazz poetry, Hug ...

, Wole Soyinka,

Amiri Baraka Amiri Baraka (born Everett Leroy Jones; October 7, 1934 – January 9, 2014), previously known as LeRoi Jones and Imamu Amear Baraka, was an American writer of poetry, drama, fiction, essays and music criticism. He was the author of numerous bo ...

, and Sarah Webster Fabio. The filmmaker William Greaves made a 40-minute documentary of the event entitled ''The First World Festival of Negro Arts'' (1968). Italian journalist Sergio Borelli produced ''Il Festival de Dakar'' (1966) a 50-minute documentary for RAI. Directors from the USSR Irina Venzher and Leonid Makhnach produced the Russian-language documentary ''Ритми Африки'' (''Ritmi Afriki'') about the festival.

Lagos, 1977

In 1977, from 15 January to 12 February, the Second World Festival of Black Arts or Black and African Festival of Arts and Culture — known as FESTAC '77 — took place in Lagos, Nigeria, under the patronage of President Olusegun Obasanjo. Attended by more than 17,000 participants from over 50 countries, it was the largest cultural event ever held on the African continent. Among artists who took part were

Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris ( Judkins; May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, who is credited as a pioneer and influence by musicians across a range of genres that include rhythm and blues, Pop musi ...

, the Sun Ra Arkestra, and

Donald Byrd Donaldson Toussaint L'Ouverture Byrd II (December 9, 1932 – February 4, 2013) was an American jazz and rhythm & blues trumpeter and vocalist. A sideman for many other jazz musicians of his generation, Byrd was one of the few hard bop m ...

from the US,

Tabu Ley Pascal-Emmanuel Sinamoyi Tabu (13 November 1940 – 30 November 2013), better known as Tabu Ley Rochereau, was a leading African rumba singer-songwriter from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. He was the leader of ''Orchestre Afrisa Internation ...

and

Franco Franco may refer to: Name * Franco (name) * Francisco Franco (1892–1975), Spanish general and dictator of Spain from 1939 to 1975 * Franco Luambo (1938–1989), Congolese musician, the "Grand Maître" Prefix * Franco, a prefix used when ...

from the Congo, Gilberto Gil from Brazil,

Bembeya Jazz National Bembeya Jazz National (originally known as Orchestre de Beyla) is a Guinean jazz group that gained fame in the 1960s for their Afropop rhythms. They are considered one of the most significant bands in Guinean music. Many of their recordings are ...

from Guinea, and Louis Moholo, Dudu Pukwana, and Miriam Makeba from South Africa.

Dakar, 2010

The 2010 World Festival of Black Arts took place 10–31 December 2010, and was initiated by Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade with the theme of

African Renaissance The African Renaissance is the concept that the African people shall overcome the current challenges confronting the continent and achieve cultural, scientific, and economic renewal. This concept was first articulated by Cheikh Anta Diop in a serie ...

. President Wade said in his 2009 address at the UN: "I call all Africans, all the sons and daughters of the Diaspora, all my fellow citizens, all the partners that are ready to walk by our side, all States, all international organizations, foundations, firms, etc. for a shining success for this Festival, and for the rise of a new Africa." It was curated by Kwame Kwei-Armah, and participants at the opening ceremony included Youssou N'Dour, Baaba Maal, Angélique Kidjo, Toumani Diabaté, Wyclef Jean, Euzhan Palcy, Carlinhos Brown and the Mahotella Queens. As well as music and cinema, the festival featured art exhibitions, theatre and dance performances, fashion shows, photography and other events, with the participation of artists and intellectuals from dozens of African and African diaspora countries, including the US, Brazil, Haiti, France and Cuba.Karima Daoudi
"The World Festival of Black Arts and Cultures"
Fulbright-mtvU Fellows, 21 March 2011.Felicia R. Lee
"World Festival of Black Arts Announces Lineup"
ArtsBeat, '' The New York Times'', 7 December 2010.

References

External links