She appears on the cover of the brochure for the week-long Festival is set to draw artists from Tanzania, Ghana, South Africa and Ethiopia.
“I am excited. Being made the face of the festival is a great promotion for me in the area and beyond. It also gives me a great feeling when my work is recognised,” Masike said. “I have a neat solo set now, which I am rehearsing. It’s new, fresh and different I hope my audience there will be excited by it.”
Zimbabwean- born Simbarashe Norman Fulukia, who has resided in Bergen for the past eight years and is the artistic director and brains behind the festival, said Masike’s face landed on the cover because she was one of the many people who have remained positive despite the hard economic environment.
“In a place where investments seem shaky many youths take the leap of faith, they have taken the dreams of Africa and made them reality just like Hope Masike,” Fulukia said.
“Africa is often associated with war and destruction, poverty and disease; Bergen Afro Arts Festival seeks to bring out untold stories of a continent robbed off its success,” he added. “The festival was born out of a passionate sense of African responsibility to mobilise the African community and bring a missing voice onto the cultural forefront”.
The main focus of this edition will be educational forums, poetry, afro folk and contemporary dance, music, fine art and fashion.
Post published in: Arts