Dathliad Cymru-Affrica – one festival, two events! Reading/Leeds Afro-Welsh style!
Our first year’s dedicated Dathliad Cymru-Affrica festival took place at Neuadd Ogwen, Bethesda 1-3 June 2023 and the Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff 10-11 June 2023.
We kickstarted the festival at Neuadd Ogwen, over three days by showcasing Wales based emerging African heritage artists, international acts from Mali, Sudan, Democratic Republic of Congo and South Africa, a performance by North Wales Africa Society’s children’s group, a visual arts exhibition, as well as African artists from across the UK.
You can see some of the wonderful highlights in the next video.
Song featured: The Successors of the Mandingue All Stars- Saliya
Artists in order of appearance: The Successors of the Mandingue All Stars feat. Eve Goodman, Adjua, Oumar Almamy Camara, Afro Cluster, Agmar Band, Binta Susso, BCUC, Dafydd Iwan & Ali Goolyad, Hanisha Solomon, Blank Face, Rahim El Habachi, Bassekou Kouyate & Ngoni Ba, Kanda Bongo Man, North Wales Africa Society, Rasha, Suntou Susso.
The following weekend we did it again but on a larger scale at the Wales Millennium centre in Cardiff, with three stages showcasing local African arts community organisations, workshops, an African Fashion Show, emerging artists, and of course the main stage.
Here are some of the highlights brought to you by Fizzi and Tim Tyson Short.
Featured song: The Successors of the Mandingue All Stars feat. Eve Goodman – ‘Da Ni Yma Cymru, Da Ni Yma Affrica‘
Artists featured in order of appearance: Blank Face, Hanisha Solomon, Agmar Band, The Successors of the Mandingue All Stars feat. Eve Goodman, Adi Detemo (Ethiopian Dance workshop), Liz Ikamba, Bassekou Kouyate & Ngoni Ba, Nawaris (Sudanese Children’s Performing Arts Group), AFJ Cardiff, Bantu Arts, Oloye, Afro Cluster, Adjua, Kanda Bongo Man, Rasha, Rahim El Habachi & Ayoub Boukhalfa.
What a way to end our 2023 festival, it was a beautiful experience and we hope you will join us next time for what promises to be even better (if possible) than our first year! More info to come with dates for 2024, stay tuned!
Dathliad Cymru-Affrica 2023 Afro-Welsh Commissions
In the lead up to the festival we also commissioned three new Afro-Welsh collaborations to be performed at the festival. The Successors of the Mandingue All Stars featuring Welsh folk singer Eve Goodman, created the beautiful song ‘Da Ni Yma Cymru, Da Ni Yma Affrica’ together and performed live at both festival weekends.
Welsh living legend Dafydd Iwan and spoken word artist Ali Goolyad then collaborated to create ‘Rwyt Ti Fel Tae’r Awyr Yn Gefnfor (You’re Like If The Sky Was An Ocean)’ which you can see in the below video.
Finally we commissioned a dance piece between Aida Diop and Krystal Lowe – Ballet Cymru meets Ballet Africains. See video below.
