This 16th edition of Afrovibes Festival is from 3 until 13 October and presents both young pioneers and established talent in theatre, dance, music, poetry and design from Africa in The Netherlands. Afrovibes shows the dynamic cultural life of Urban Africa with a programme by African and Dutch artists. The festival takes place in Amsterdam, Utrecht, Den Haag and Rotterdam and brings a diverse programme of performances, theatre, dance, debates and afterparties at a variety of locations.
Speak Truth to Power
This year’s theme is Speak Truth to Power. The world is overflowing with data and information and with the rise of unfiltered (online) sources the question arises: what is real and what is fake? Has truth become an illusion in a world in which social media reinforces existing stereotypes by showing people (fake) news, images and stories with which they already agree? Afro_Vibes has chosen this theme as an artistic response to current times in which various power struggles are featured in the news every day. From authoritarian regimes to students who make their voices heard for climate change and affordable education. Where women unite for equality and against sexual violence, where refugees and migrants have to defend their position and where online media and news channels are used to look at the world, but also for propaganda and fake news
Dates and theatres/cities
Amsterdam 4 - 6 October Compagnietheater, 5 - 7 October Tolhuistuin, 7 October Bimhuis, 9 & 10 October De Balie and 12 October Bijlmer Parktheater.
The Hague 6 & 7 October Het Nationale Theater (Theater a/h Spui) and 8 October Institute of Social Studies.
Rotterdam 13 & 14 October Maaspodium and 14 October Kunsthal.
Utrecht 13 October Stadsschouwburg Utrecht and 14 October TivoliVredenburg.
This year Afrovibes is celebrating its 16th edition!
The festival was founded in 1999 by initiator Vuyo Raymond Matinyana (1969 - 2001). Raymond was a South African artist and singer who came to the Netherlands and settled in Amsterdam. Here he first founded the Afrovibes Band from which the festival derives its name. In addition to his career as a singer, Raymond also performed as a drag artist called Miss Thandi, both in the Netherlands and in South Africa.
Raymond wanted to connect South Africa with the Netherlands and it’s out of this wish that he realized the Afrovibes Festival in 1999. The first edition was on June 16, 1999 in De Rode Hoed in Amsterdam with, among other, a performance by his own Afrovibes Band. Nowadays, Afrovibes has grown from a one-day event to a 10-day festival that takes place every year in the autumn in several cities in the Netherlands.