Federation Square are set to host the annual African Music and Cultural Festival this Saturday December 10. From early morning until daylight fades you can frolic in a cultural carousal of music, poetry, dance, food and fashion that celebrates diversity, harmony and community cohesiveness. Featuring live performances from local and international musicians like Lamine Sonko & The African Intelligence, DJ Wise King, Avii, Yaw Faso and spoken word performances from Abe Nouk and Soreti Kadir. Check out the handy event schedule at www.africanmusicfestival.com.
Signal Summer; a free creative arts program for young people aged between 13 and 25 is about to kick off. Open to people of any experience level, the program is an opportunity to collaborate with professional artists and have work exhibited in a showcase. There are a whole bunch of workshops available and they’re all cool, strange and arty. Some picks include Electric Karaoke which involves creating an animated music video that you can interact with in real time, Sugar Mountain, in which applicants explore public art projects before creating their own and Automata which is all about repurposing manufacturing equipment to create eerie metallic sculptures. Being involved in the program is as simple as heading to www.melbourne.vic.gov.au/arts-and-culture/signal and filling out an application but hurry, applications close this Friday December 9.
Applications are also closing for the first semester of the Young Women’s Music Program this week, on Wednesday December 7. The YoWo Music program is a series of weekly workshops with professional female musicians Lena Douglas (Tetrahedra, Tulalah), Clair Cross (Saltwood, The Outdoor Type) and Eilish Gilligan (Frida, Gummy Venus) every Sunday. The workshops consist of studies of a wide variety of genres, developing techniques and performances in ensemble type settings, all leading up to a performance at a local music venue. Semester one next year runs from Sunday February 19until Sunday June 25. Head to www.yowomusic.com/apply to download the application.
