Diaspora Dialogues: South Africa | Day of the Ancestors: Festival of Masks

Resistance through the power of the pen

The fight of Black South Africans for their freedom is the stuff of legend. Artists, as always, were at the center of the revolution. They activated the movement, through song, dance and powerful words. Join us as we visit South Africa on our summer “trip” across the African diaspora to gain inspiration from artists, their creative responses to oppression and hopeful outlook for a brighter day. Through Day of the Ancestors: Festival of Masks we will share ways to explore this amazing place from dialogue to artmaking to food and song.

Diaspora Dialogue: Los Angeles - South Africa

presented by LA Commons

Sunday, July 12

9:30-11:00AM Pacific Daylight Time

6:30-8:00PM South Africa Standard Time

Please join via the Zoom Meeting link below. The conversation will begin at 9:30 AM and the waiting room will be open at 9:00 AM. Please feel free to login before the event begins to test out your sound and video.

Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85499292590

Meeting ID: 8549 929 2590

If you are unable to join with video via the Zoom Meeting platform, you may join by phone by dialing the number and meeting ID below.

+16699006833

Meeting ID: 8549 929 2590#

In the next installment in our conversations between artists from across the African diaspora, we travel to South Africa, the site of one of the most inspiring revolutions against racism the world has seen. Art played a critical role in this movement, providing Black South Africans with the courage and strength to overthrow the brutal apartheid regime. Poetry was a powerful tool for exercising creative activism and we highlight the work and legacy of two leading poets and fighters for freedom - the late Masizi Kunene whose work, reflecting the mighty Zulu tribe, notably the epic poem Emperor Shaka the Great, led to recognition as his country’s first poet laureate; and 85 year-old Don Mattera, who, in writing as poet, journalist and activist, chronicles the pain and power of the struggles of Black people everywhere to release the shackles of oppression.

A conversation with:

Zosukuma Kunene (Masizi Kunene Foundation | Durban, South Africa)

Don Mattera (Poet and Activist | Johannesburg, South Africa)

Ben Caldwell (Artist, Educator, Filmmaker KAOS Network | Leimert Park, Los Angeles)

Moderated by Pastor Kelvin Sauls

Join the re-broadcast via Facebook Live

Sunday, July 12

2:00PM Pacific Daylight Time

11:00PM South Africa Standard Time

LEIMERT PARK’S DAY OF THE ANCESTORS: FESTIVAL OF THE MASK (FOM) is an annual celebration of our ancestors and an invocation for the South Central LA community. Founded in 2010 by artists Najite Agindotan, Rene Fisher-Mims, and Ben Caldwell in collaboration with LA Commons, FOM is a multicultural, multigenerational, and multimedia arts event at the Leimert Park Art Walk that champions the vast identities of the African diaspora.

Save the Dates: Upcoming Diaspora Dialogues (Sundays at 2 pm)

July 26: Curacao

Aug 9: Zambia

Aug 23: Nigeria

All ages are welcomed and invited to travel the African Diaspora with us (from home) this summer!

LA COMMONS engages communities in the creation of public art that tells their unique stories and serves as the basis for dialogue, interaction, and a better understanding of Los Angeles. www.lacommons.org

*By registering for this event I grant permission for LA Commons to use my image, video or still, and voice, as recorded, without payment or any other consideration. I understand that the workshops may be recorded and livestreamed and that content of the workshops may appear in whole, or in part, in a variety of formats and platforms.