The World Festival of Black Arts (French: ''Festival Mondial des Arts Nègres''), also known as FESMAN or FMAN, has been a series of month-long culture and arts festivals taking place in various parts of

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

. The festival features participants of cultural expression – arts, literature, music, cinema – from around the

African Diaspora The African diaspora is the worldwide collection of communities descended from List of ethnic groups of Africa, people from Africa. The term most commonly refers to the descendants of the native West Africa, West and Central Africans who were ...

First World Festival of Negro Arts – Dakar, 1966

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

William Greaves William Garfield Greaves (October 8, 1926 – August 25, 2014) was an American documentary filmmaker and a pioneer of film-making. After trying his hand at acting, he became a filmmaker who produced more than two hundred documentary films, and w ...

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 (), commercially styled as since 2000 and known until 1954 as (RAI), is the national public broadcasting company of Italy, owned by the Ministry of Economy and Finance. RAI operates many terrestrial and subscription television channels a ...

. Senegalese director Paulin Soumanou Vieyra also produced the documentary ''Le Sénégal au festival national des arts nègres'' (1966). Directors from the USSR, Irina Venzher and Leonid Makhnach, produced the Russian-language documentary ''Ритми Африки'' (''Ritmi Afriki'') about the festival.

Summary

The First World Festival of Black Arts (French: ''Premier Festival Mondial des Arts Noirs'') or World Festival of Negro Arts (French: ''Festival mondial des arts nègres'') was held in

Dakar Dakar ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Senegal, largest city of Senegal. The Departments of Senegal, department of Dakar has a population of 1,278,469, and the population of the Dakar metropolitan area was at 4.0 mill ...

, Senegal, 1–24 April 1966, hosted by former President Leopold Segar Senghor, and supported by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

), along with the French government. The festival involved around 2,500 participants from 30 independent African countries and other nations with diasporic communities, such as the US, Brazil, The Caribbean, France, and the United Kingdom. It featured black literature, music, theater, visual arts, film, and dance. It was the first state-sponsored festival to showcase the work of African and African diasporic artists, musicians, and writers to a global audience. Under President Leopold Senghor, the festival was intended to place culture at the forefront of African diasporic renaissance. The main goals of the jubilee were to (1) advance international and interracial understandings, (2) tie the African homeland to external diasporic members, (3) promote the philosophy of Negritude, and (4) allow Negro artists to meet and showcase talents to members/outlets of the international art world. In preparation for the event, Dakar underwent major reconstruction via internal funding and contributions from participating nations. Dakar built new roads, an airport terminal, and two new venues – the Theatre National Daniel Sorano and the Musée Dynamique – for incoming participants and visitors. Dakar repurposed existing buildings such as the Palace de Justice (law courts), the Cathedral, Dakar Town Hall, and various beachfronts to accommodate the wave of performances that month.

Proceedings

The festival kicked off with an eight-day colloquium (co-organized by UNESCO) that organized philosophical and theoretical presentations on the function/importance of Negro Arts. Held in the National Assembly Building ovey, 1966, p. 5 The opening presentation was given by President Senghor's speech "The Defense and Illustration of Negritude" while other participants provided material for discussion such as

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. An early innovator of jazz poetry, Hughes is best known as a leader of the Harl ...

' "Black Writers in a Troubled World". For the rest of the month, festival attendees explored the city by going to various exhibitions in various venues.The Cinema Palace held screenings of submitted films and documentaries, the newly built Musée Dynamique showcased national art exhibits, and the Theatre National Daniel Sorano staged dances, plays, and jazz gigs. International judges also awarded festival prizes in the Daniel Sorano Theater ovey, 1966, p. 6 Participants such as poet

Tchicaya U Tam'si Tchicaya U Tam'si (born Gérald-Félix Tchicaya, 25 August 1931 – 22 April 1988) was a Congolese author; his pen name means "small paper that speaks for its country" in Kikongo. Life Born in Mpili, near Brazzaville, French Equatorial Africa ...

ranceand playwright

Wole Soyinka Wole Soyinka , (born 13 July 1934) is a Nigerian author, best known as a playwright and poet. He has written three novels, ten collections of short stories, seven poetry collections, twenty five plays and five memoirs. He also wrote two transla ...

igerialeft with awards in their respective categories.

US participation

A North American committee organized US participation in the festival. This delegation was led by H. Alwynn Innes-Brown (president) and John A. Davis (vice president) from the American Society of African Culture.Ratcliff, 2014, p. 173. Helping to facilitate US involvement were the US Senegal ambassadors, musician

Mercer Cook Will Mercer Cook (March 30, 1903 – October 4, 1987), popularly known as Mercer Cook, was an American diplomat and professor. He was the first United States ambassador to the Gambia after it became independent, appointed in 1965 while also ...

, and French Literature scholar

Ousmane Diop Socé Ousmane Diop Socé (October 31, 1911, Rufisque, Senegal, French West Africa – October 27, 1973, Dakar, Senegal) was a writer, politician, and one of the first Senegalese novelists. Biography He attended a Qur'anic school, and later enter ...

. The US State Department funded the committee and the chosen participants, providing $150,000 in funding, and appointed then-President

Lyndon B. Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), also known as LBJ, was the 36th president of the United States, serving from 1963 to 1969. He became president after the assassination of John F. Kennedy, under whom he had served a ...

and his wife as honorary members. Key US participants include

Ralph Bunche Ralph Johnson Bunche ( ; August 7, 1904 – December 9, 1971) was an American political scientist, diplomat, and leading actor in the mid-20th-century decolonization process and US civil rights movement, who received the 1950 Nobel Peace Priz ...

Alvin Ailey Alvin Ailey Jr. (January 5, 1931 – December 1, 1989) was an American dancer, director, choreographer, and activist who founded the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater (AAADT). He created AAADT and its affiliated Alvin Ailey American Dance Cent ...

Marian Anderson Marian Anderson (February 27, 1897April 8, 1993) was an American contralto. She performed a wide range of music, from opera to spirituals. Anderson performed with renowned orchestras in major concert and recital venues throughout the United S ...

, Fred O'Neal,

Leontyne Price Leontyne Price ( born Mary Violet Leontine Price February 10, 1927) is an American spinto soprano who was the first African-American soprano to receive international acclaim. From 1961 she began a long association with the Metropolitan Opera. ...

Sidney Poitier Sidney Poitier ( ; February 20, 1927 – January 6, 2022) was a Bahamian-American actor, film director, activist, and diplomat. In 1964, he was the first black actor and first Bahamian to win the Academy Award for Best Actor. Among his ot ...

, Hale Woodruff,

Ossie Davis Ossie Davis (born Raiford Chatman Davis; December 18, 1917 – February 4, 2005) was an American actor, Film director, director, writer, and activist. He was married to Ruby Dee, with whom he frequently performed, until his death. He received num ...

Duke Ellington Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American Jazz piano, jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous Big band, jazz orchestra from 1924 through the rest of his life. Born and raised in Washington, D ...

Margaret Danner Margaret Danner (1915–1984) (Margaret Esse Danner, Margaret Danner Cunningham) was an American poet, editor and cultural activist known for her poetic imagery and her celebration of African heritage and cultural forms. Early life and Chicago y ...

, Rosa Guy,

Katherine Dunham Katherine Mary Dunham (June 22, 1909 – May 21, 2006) was an African American dancer, choreographer, anthropologist, and social activist. Dunham had one of the most successful dance careers of the 20th century and directed her own dance compan ...

, Arthur Mitchell, and

William Warfield William Caesar Warfield (January 22, 1920 – August 25, 2002) was an American concert bass-baritone, known for his appearances in stage productions, Hollywood films, and television programs. A prominent African American artist during the Civil ...

Festival critiques

While the festival was considered a success – with 50,000 people in attendance total – there was criticism from prominent black scholars and participants before and after the event. The lack of discourse and illustration of the current political struggles and African Liberation was a main source of disparagement. The event avoided deliberation on anti-colonialism and anti-imperialism, highlighting ideas of culture over politics and economy. The festival was also condemned for its selection of participants as mainly nation-states were allowed to contribute, and delegations had to receive approval before submitting representatives. Black scholars such as Afro-Brazilian writer

Abdias do Nascimento Abdias do Nascimento (March 14, 1914 – May 23, 2011) was a prominent African Brazilian scholar, artist, and politician. Also a poet, dramatist, and Pan-African activist, Nascimento created the Black Experimental Theater (1944) and the Black Ar ...

were denied entry due to not being official members of approved delegations. Moreover, contemporary musicians and radical Black scholars from America – such as James Brown – were not allowed to join as US Representatives. American editor, educator, critic, and author Hoyt Fuller also pointed out the heavy government influence that hung over the event from the US State Department, CIA, and French government.

Continuing festivals

Algiers, 1969

This sequence also included '' Festival panafricain d'Alger 1969''.

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 Lagos ( ; ), or Lagos City, is a large metropolitan city in southwestern Nigeria. With an upper population estimated above 21 million dwellers, it is the largest city in Nigeria, the most populous urban area on the African continent, and on ...

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

, under the patronage of President

Olusegun Obasanjo Chief Olusegun Matthew Okikiola Ogunboye Aremu Obasanjo (; ; born 5 March 1937) is a Nigerian former army general, politician and statesman who served as Nigeria's head of state from 1976 to 1979 and later as its president from 1999 to 200 ...

. Attended by more than 17,000 participants from more than 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; born May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American and Ghanaian singer-songwriter, musician, and record producer. He is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th c ...

Ted Joans Theodore Joans (July 4, 1928 – April 25, 2003) was an American beatnik, surrealist, painter, filmmaker, collageist, jazz poet and jazz trumpeter who spent long periods of time in Paris while also traveling through Africa. His complex body of w ...

, 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, composer and vocalist. A sideman for many other jazz musicians of his generation, Byrd was one of the few h ...

from the US, Tabu Ley and Franco from the Congo,

Gilberto Gil Gilberto Passos Gil Moreira (; born 26 June 1942), is a Brazilian singer-songwriter and politician, known for both his musical innovation and political activism. From 2003 to 2008, he served as Brazil's Ministry of Culture (Brazil), Minister of ...

from Brazil, Bembeya Jazz National from Guinea, and

Louis Moholo Louis Tebogo Moholo (10 March 1940 – 13 June 2025) was a South African jazz drummer. He was a member of several notable bands, including The Blue Notes, the Brotherhood of Breath and Assagai. Biography Born in Cape Town, Moholo formed The ...

Dudu Pukwana Mthutuzeli Dudu Pukwana (18 July 1938 – 30 June 1990) was a South African saxophonist and composer. Early years in South Africa Dudu Pukwana was born in Walmer, Port Elizabeth, Walmer Township, Port Elizabeth, South Africa. He grew up studyin ...

, and

Miriam Makeba Zenzile Miriam Makeba ( , ; 4 March 1932 – 9 November 2008), nicknamed Mama Africa, was a South African singer, songwriter, actress, and civil rights activist. Associated with musical genres including African popular music, Afropop, ja ...

from South Africa.

Dakar, 2010

Senegalese President

Abdoulaye Wade Abdoulaye Wade (, ; born 29 May 1926) is a Senegalese politician who served as the third president of Senegal from 2000 to 2012. He is also the Secretary-General of the Senegalese Democratic Party (PDS), having led the party since it was founded ...

initiated the Third World Festival of Black Arts from 10–31 December 2010, 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 seri ...

. 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 the rise of a new Africa." The 2010 festival was curated by

Kwame Kwei-Armah Kwame Kwei-Armah (born Ian Roberts; 24 March 1967 in Hillingdon, London) is a British actor, playwright, director and broadcaster. In 2005, Kwei-Armah became the second black Briton to have a play staged in London's West End when his award-w ...

, and participants at the opening ceremony included

Youssou N'Dour Youssou N'Dour (, ; also known as Youssou Madjiguène Ndour; born 1 October 1959) is a Senegalese singer, songwriter, musician, composer, occasional actor, businessman, and politician. In 2004, ''Rolling Stone'' described him as, "perhaps the m ...

Baaba Maal Baaba Maal (, born 13 June 1953) is a Senegalese singer and guitarist born in Podor, on the Senegal River. In addition to acoustic guitar, he also plays percussion. He has released several albums, both for independent and major labels. In July ...

Angélique Kidjo Angélique Kpasseloko Hinto Hounsinou Kandjo Manta Zogbin Kidjo (; born July 14, 1960) is a Beninese- French singer-songwriter, actress and activist noted for her diverse musical influences and creative music videos. Kidjo has won five Grammy A ...

Toumani Diabaté Toumani Diabaté ( ; 10 August 1965 – 19 July 2024) was a Malian kora player. In addition to performing the traditional music of Mali, he was involved in cross-cultural collaborations with flamenco, blues, jazz, and other international styl ...

Wyclef Jean Nel Ust Wyclef Jean ( ; born October 17, 1969) is a Haitian rapper, singer, and record producer. Born in Haiti, Jean emigrated to the Northeastern United States, United States as a child. He gained fame as a founding member of the Fugees, a Ne ...

, Euzhan Palcy,

Carlinhos Brown Antônio Carlos Santos de Freitas, known professionally as Carlinhos Brown (Brazilian Portuguese: /kaʁˈlĩɲus bɾaw̃, -iɲuʃ/, 23 November 1962), is a Brazilian singer, percussionist, and record producer from Salvador, Bahia. His musica ...

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.Daoudi, Karima
"The World Festival of Black Arts and Cultures"
Fulbright-mtvU Fellows, 21 March 2011.Lee, Felicia R.
"World Festival of Black Arts Announces Lineup"
ArtsBeat, ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', 7 December 2010.

Zanzibar, 2022

Twelve years later, Hotel Verde in Zanzibar hosted Festac, with high-profile names including H.E. Chief

, Professor

, H.E. Dr Hussein Ali Mwinyi, and Dr Abdulrazak Gurnah.

Arusha, 2023

Under a new festival director, Lehlohonolo Peega, "Festac Africa 2023, Destination Arusha, Tanzania", was held in the tourist city of

Arusha Arusha is a city in Tanzania. The city is the Capital city, capital of the Arusha Region. It has a population of 617,631 people.

, Tanzania, with the theme: Experience Africa in Seven Days. This rendition of the festival opened on Sunday night (21 May 2023) by former

Black Panther Party The Black Panther Party (originally the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense) was a Marxism–Leninism, Marxist–Leninist and Black Power movement, black power political organization founded by college students Bobby Seale and Huey P. Newto ...

member Charlotte Hill O'Neal with a benediction ceremony and the hoisting of African flags. The official opening (on Monday, 22 May 2023) featured Africa's leading speaker, Professor P. L. O. Lumumba, who encouraged and commended the work done by the festival under its chairperson Abioye Yinka and CEO Grace Mumo. In various interviews with global media houses, Prof. Lumumba stressed the need for Festac. The week's activities were followed by performances from the legendary East African band, Les Wanyika, Lord Eyez, Jamapara, and many more, with a three-day conference addressing climate change, women in business, cultural diplomacy, etc.

References

External links

* Facebook site for the 2009 festival. * * * *

Video

* Festival of 1966. Featuring Senghor, Duke Ellington, and Langston Hughes. Documentary video duration 26 min. * Video duration 50m 28s. Uploader caterina borelli, 2015. * . Video duration 17m 17s. Uploader Purplesam Kinuthia EntataineR, 2023. * . Video duration 44m 45s. Uploader Clevenard Social Platform, 2023. * . Video duration m s. Uploader Newzroom Afrika, 19 May 2023. {{Authority control 1996 establishments in Senegal African festivals Art exhibitions in Senegal Art festivals in Africa Arts festivals in Africa Arts festivals in Nigeria Arts organisations based in Senegal Arts organizations based in Africa Arts organizations based in Nigeria Arts organizations established in 1996 Black people in art Film festivals about African cinema