World music artiste Tshilla rocks the crowd while a model showcases a design. PHOTOS BY EDGAR BATTE AND GEOFFREY SSERUYANGE
About 10,000 revellers stormed Uganda National Cultural Centre ? National Theatre, for the fourth edition of the Bayimba International Festival of the Arts. More than 100 different artistes graced the main and hip-hop stages, auditorium, open space, dance floor, Green Room and the VIP tent in the three-day festival that will be remembered for the sheer number of people fascinated by free entry. And a lot more.
In a manifestation of how much the arts in Uganda have grown, the festival was a celebration of everything from photography, theatre, film, music to poetry and fashion. According to Faisal Kiwewa, the director, this edition shows that Ugandan arts is vibrant and has moved on to another level.
?When we traversed the country, we found many talented people. We found musicians who can hold their own and sing live,? he said. That is why 80 per cent of the artistes were from Uganda. The rest were from East Africa and the rest of the world. ?The different artistes, especially those that graced the main stage, did so live. No CDs.?
That is the reason why probably their mission to uplift arts and culture (specifically visual and performing arts) in Uganda and East Africa by stimulating original intra- and interdisciplinary cultural exchange and creativity is on course to realisation.
The Uneven Band, Kwella Band, Josephine Nabitaka Ndagire, Theatre Factory, Fred Ssebata, Ssali Hytham, Tshilla, Maraka Band, Lillian and the Sundowners, Navio and Benon ? who were accompanied by the Kampala Symphony Orchestra rocked. These were complemented by foreign acts Donna Michelle, Ana Lan and Muzungu Kicha.
Others on the line up never showed up, like Rachael K who was scheduled to perform on Friday. Maybe she was still recovering from a stinging remark from a colleague about last year?s performance. With much better weather this rainy September, most artistes had a chance of making an impact on the crowds, but instead drove them away to other activities like the silent disco, poetry, art exhibition and plays in the auditorium. The younger ones bounced their happiness away in the ?castles?.
The future of the festival right now is bright even with the minimal support from the so called corporate companies that according to Kiwewa, only support anything without a vision. ?Four stages, more artistes and more people is what we are looking for at next year?s edition,? Kiwewa says.
The magic of the festival that started on March 26 in Jinja and went through Arua, Gulu, Mbarara, Mbale and ended with a three-day fiesta is still intact. The sound, which occasionally gave way as the artistes performed on the main stage was probably the only glitch of the show. That, and Charlie, the MC?s outfit. But without doubt this will go down as a good festival for all the right reasons.
By Caesar Abangirah, Daily Monitor
Source: http://in2eastafrica.net/bayimba-uplifts-culture-the-arts/
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