Last year’s edition was billed as one of the finest urban showcases of art, music, dance, graffiti poetry and photography – and now the PAWA Festival is back for its second year in a row.
The Nairobi PAWA Street Festival will be taking over Koinange Street on the 18th of December will be hoping to convert and inspire those who attend to think bigger – and to allow themselves to gain more insight into what makes young people in this city tick.
And engaging with creatives is really not a bad way to spend a few hours on a Sunday.
It’s dubbed ‘Unity Through Art’ and will include performances from an artist lineup that includes spoken word artists Teardrops and Mufasa; Kenya Dance Academy, Gravitti, Zikki, among others. How possible is it to break down the barriers that separate us both geographically as well as demographically? Not a bad way to find out.
Nairobi County Deputy Governor, Jonathan Mueke dubbed it a great milestone for Kenya – with arts and music being industries that are growing at a frenetic pace: “…the festival platform will provide an opportunity for entrepreneurs to promote their businesses in our quest to support local entrepreneurs in the country…I call upon everyone to come out in large numbers and support the event. Together, let’s make it big.”
PAWA’s General Manager Njeri Mwangi said that the event helps to bring the art out of galleries and allow members of the public to familiarize themselves with it, and immerse themselves in it: “…we hope to do is to bring peoples experiences and hopes and creativity together to infuse togetherness. Building up on last year’s success, we are expecting thousands of people to come through to witness the showcase…”
It is the hope that with events such as PAWA’s Street Fest and other similar initiatives, regular exposure for those involved in the arts and culture in general will enable them to be embraced by the mainstream which will essentially help to support their growth.
Last year’s event attracted 2000 people. This year could possibly go all the way and beat that. Will you be there?
