Experience African Culture in Seoul
By Cathy Rose A. Garcia
Staff Reporter
The African continent may seem like a mystery to most Koreans, because of its geographical distance and elusive culture. But recently African music, art and dance have been generating interest in Korea.
Recent performances of South African dancer Vincent Mantsoe at the Seoul International Dance festival, and Senegalese artists Youssou N'Dour and Ismael Lo have attracted large audiences in Seoul.
This week, ``Caravan to Africa'' hopes to bridge the gap between Korea and Africa by introducing African films, art, music and dance. From Dec. 19 to 22, there will be an art exhibition, a series of film screenings, and dance and musical performances at the LIG Art Hall and Korea Foundation Cultural Center.
``Although Africa is a continent of rich cultural heritage and cultural diversity, it is most often misunderstood as a territory entirely struck with poverty and disease... It is now our turn to correct the false stereotypes of Africa that may still exist in Korea and introduce African culture and artists to the general audience that it can see the true Africa,'' organizers said.
Gallery Touch Africa is holding an exhibition on African art at the LIG Art Hall lobby and L-Space on Dec. 19. This features Shona stone sculptures, Weya paintings depicting rural life in Zimbabwe, Kuba cloth from Congo and Bushman prints. There are also African-inspired photography and artworks by Korean artists on display.
Compagnie Phenix will combine contemporary dance with Cameroon's traditional heritage in their performance on Dec. 20 at the LIG Art Hall. This will be the first visit of Compagnie Phenix and its choreographer Jean Michel Moukam Fonkan to Seoul.
Moukam Fonkam ``presents works that reflect his own skills of redeveloping Cameroon's traditional dance within the framework of contemporary choreography.''
Sabar Orchestra will entertain audiences with the driving beats of African music using a traditional Senegalese drum called sabar, on Dec. 21 at the LIG Art Hall. A sabar is generally played with one hand and one stick. It is also the style of music created when playing the drum.
Daour Youssou Ndiaye, who founded the Sabar Orchestra in 1999, is a descendant of legendary sabar drummer Doudou N'diaye Rose. He was a member of the percussion orchestra led by N'diaye Rose in the 1990s, but he moved to Tokyo in 1998 to perform as a dancer and percussionist.
Youssou Ndiaye will conduct a sabar drum workshop at 5 p.m, Dec. 19 at the LIG Art Hall. The workshop is open to the public, ages 15 and above.
Nine films, recommended by the embassies of Tunisia, Algeria, Senegal and South Africa, will be shown from Dec. 20 to 22 at the Korea Foundation Cultural Center screening room. This is rare opportunity to watch acclaimed films such as ``Ezra" directed by Newton I. Aduaka, which won best film at the Pan-Asian film festival and Durban International Film Festival; ``Moolaade'' directed by Ousmane Sembene and ``Bamako'' directed by Abderrahmane Sissako, who has won numerous awards.
Mariet Bakker, founder of ``Africa in the Picture'' the oldest African film festival in the Netherlands, will give a lecture on African cinema on Dec. 21 and 22 at the Korea Foundation Cultural Center.
``Caravan to Africa'' is hosted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade and organized by the Korean branch of the International Dance Council. All the events are free and open to the public. For reservations visit https://cafe.naver.com/africancaravan or call (02) 3216-1185.