In 2019 Fak’ugesi African Digital Innovation Festival, celebrates six years of developing young digital creatives through the Fak’ugesi Digital Africa Residency and introduces two new exclusive collaborations
The Fak’ugesi Digital Africa Residency is the festival’s primary annual creative residency designed to support young digital creatives for a full month (9 August until 8 September) in preparation for an exhibition at the annual Fak’ugesi African Digital Innovation Festival.
Tegan Bristow, Festival director, said, “In 2019 we have a cutting edge group of four Digital Artists from South Africa (Natalie Penang & Nhlakanipho Mashinini), Zambia (Wamya Tembo) and Switzerland (Vanessa Lorenzo Toquero). They will be working together towards their residency exhibition which will open at the BKhz Gallery in Braamfontein from 30 August.”
The focus of the residency will be on the Fak’ugesi Festival 2019 theme: ‘Own Your Force’. “This year’s theme centres on an African vision of the future of digital creativity by asking; who owns our digital value chain? How do we protect our creative and cultural equity in the digital world?” noted Bristow.
Joining the annual Fak’ugesi Digital African Residency are two new short format residencies:
-The first is a 100 per cent online two-week residency in collaboration with Floating Reverie, in which the resident artists will work to respond to what is happening at Fak’ugesi festival and the respective theme ‘Own Your Force’.
-The second is in collaboration with Arts Research Africa, and the Wits School of Arts focus on creative research (funded by the Andrew Mellon Foundation). The collaboration will see a new cross-regional Residency run for three years between the Chale Wote Street Art Festival (Accra, Ghana) and Fak’ugesi African Digital Innovation Festival. This year, artist and cultural producer from KwaZulu-Natal, Russel Hlongwane, will be attending both festivals with a new work titled: Ifu Elimnyama.
The 2019 Fak’ugesi Digital Africa Residency will also welcome Swiss guest artists Andreas Gysin & Sidi Vanetti, known as Gysin & Vanetti as participating artists and mentors as part of Pro Helvetia’s support in the extension of the residency.
“Gysin & Vanetti’s work focuses on repurposing digital commercial and public signage to make graphically beautiful digital artwork in real life. Gysin & Vanetti will also offer a master class, open to the public, on 31 August 2019,” Bristow added.
Lesley Williams, CEO of Tshimologong Digital Innovation Precinct, which will host the Fak’ugesi Digital Africa Residency for a third year, commented, “The precinct is a natural meeting point for the digital arts community in Africa and across the globe. This is where African digital artists interact with counterparts from around the world, collaborate around best practice and create something truly memorable.”
