Radio Broadcast on Carrickfergus Celebrates Africa

This is the link to a Homely Planet radio programme which was made at the event I organised called Carrickfergus Celebrates Africa, which was to commemorate 2011 International Year for Peoples of African descent.  http://vimeo.com/33181978

The broadcast is worth listening to as there are many very positive comments from me as the organiser, the artists who were at the event, the volunteers who worked at it and members of the public who attended the event.

As you can hear from listening to the broadcast, this was a very multi-cultural event which people got a lot out of.  The interviews conducted by Ola and Darren from Homely Planet Radio brought out a lot of interesting comments, such as Stephen Jamison’s point that people have limited knowledge about Africa and that when they come to Faces of Africa portraits exhibitions they learn from talking to Stephen and myself about the diversity in Africa and its culture. I have been painting Faces of Africa since 2004 and have had Stephen exhibiting with me since 2009.

Willetta Fleming originally from Michigan in USA, now settled in Lisburn, came with her mixed race children and they enjoyed the diversity, and being able to mix with people who look like themselves as very little of Northern Ireland is multi-cultural at present.  She would like to see more multi-cultural events like it and says it’s definately needed in Northern Ireland.

People took away from that event a lot about cultural integration, about African culture and heritage, and they enjoyed it all.  Andy Shaw who is from Carrickfergus was of the opinion that Carrickfergus needed more cultural events like it.  He thinks that “the more culture we can bring into Carrickfergus the better.”

Giulia from Italy was a volunteer working with the children but she had been working in Kenya so could share about her own experiences there and she encourages volunteering in Africa which she said was a good experience for her.  She would advocate volunteering and being part of another culture through living with people there as she did when she went to Kenya.  She was working on a health and environment project with other volunteers.  She sees integration and staying with people from other cultures as a good thing.  

Quotation from the broadcast by me: 

“Bringing people together, integrating different communities that don’t normally mix, I get a real kick out of bringing communities that don’t normally mix.  I get a real kick out of bringing communities together through the arts, and cultural bonding through the arts and this is my main aim.”

CULTURAL BONDING THROUGH THE ARTS IS FUN!!!   I LOVE IT! 

What I was happy about is that I provided an event where peoples of African descent could come to learn about their own heritage and also that one teenage girl’s previously racist thinking had been challenged by all that she saw and that her attitude had been changed by meeting and talking to people there with her mother.  That was fantastic!

Tura Arutura of Artfrique Music and Dance pictured performing at the event. 

Magwere playing on the last day.

I noted that people from at least 19 countries attended the event and that is great!

BOOK AN EVENT… HA HA!