Watch the MusicXwords live showcase event
Scroll through the images to see all five selected acts. Photos © Manyatsa Monyamane for the Music In Africa Foundation
The Music In Africa Foundation (MIAF) and the European Union Delegation to South Africa, with the support of the Cultural Relations Platform, have announced the five South African spoken word and music acts who will be matched with EU festivals and venues as part of the MusicXwords project.
The five acts will receive financial support from the Cultural Relations Platform to travel to Europe and participate in European festivals in 2022. They were selected by a jury of industry professionals from a shortlist of 10 emerging South African acts, who participated in a capacity building workshop on 28 October and showcased their talents in a virtual concert on 29 October. You can now watch a recording of the event using the link below.
The five selected artists
Following the event, these five acts were selected to appear at European festivals in 2022:
About MusicXwords
The MusicXwords project is an initiative by the EU Delegation to South Africa, implemented in partnership with the Music In Africa Foundation and supported by the Cultural Relations Platform.
The MusicXwords initiative aims to facilitate interdisciplinary exchange between musicians and spoken word artists in South Africa. It will provide training to participants and offer them showcasing opportunities in South Africa and across Europe, while actively strengthening collaboration between South African artists and European festivals, bookers and programmers.
“It has been thrilling to collaborate with our partners, the European Union Delegation to South Africa and the Cultural Relations Platform, on this programme, which sees the Music In Africa Foundation working within the realm of spoken word – a first for us,” MIAF projects manager Violet Maila said. “It is our sincere hope that this opportunity will catapult all participants to new career heights while creating opportunities for collaboration and shared learning.”
“The EU views culture as an important element at the heart of its partnership with Africa, especially at this time in which cultural industries in both Europe and Africa have been so badly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. MusicXwords has allowed the EU to actively support culture as a space for opportunity and hope for young cultural operators within the spoken word and music genres.”
EU ambassador Riina Kionka