In 2017, Khuli Chana released a song called ‘One Source’. The track featured KayGizm, Sarkodie from Ghana, and Victoria Kimani of Kenya. This powerful song is all about Africa taking a stand, uniting in what it does, owning who they are, and being revolutionary. After its release in October last year, it became the best-selling record on iTunes.
Now Chana is collaborating with Absolut Vodka in creating One Source Live. This festival is a celebration of African creativity in all forms. It will take place on March 24, 2018, on Joburg. This one-day live event will involve multiple stages, and various collaborations to rewrite Africa’s story.
The aim of the festival is to change the way that non-Africans perceive this continent and its people. They want people to look at Africa with new eyes and see what a wonderful and diverse continent it is with huge talent in all areas of art and creativity. From fashion designers to musicians, Africa is a melting pot of talented artists.
The celebration of African art will be led by Khuli Chana with fashion designer Trevor Stuurman and Sho Madjozi of Ndebele also taking leading roles. Photographers Osborne Macharia of Keny and Fabrice Monteiro of Senegal are also featuring at this event. These five are representing the superheroes of Africa and each will take
African art: Fashion Editorial
inspiration from the history and mythology of Africa as well as the bright future of the continent.
To launch the event, Shine Studios held a media preview earlier this month in Braamfontein. Guests at this event were presented with personalized cocktails that were intended to represent the five main creatives true personas.
Each of these cocktails contained Absolut as they are the main sponsors of the event. The flavors included in these cocktails included Absolut, Absolut Mandarin, Absolut Kurant, Absolut Citron, and Absolut Lime. To reflect the creativity of the event, the cocktails were also given creative names, including the eye, the iron warrior, the rain queen, the dragon, and the explorer. The cocktail designed to represent musician Sho Madjozi was the rain queen and she said that this was the perfect reflection of her personality.
According to marketing director Iris LeBerg, Absolut has a history of supporting talented artists and also for standing up for communities. The festival is ideal for the ethos of the Absolut brand. She also spoke of how One Source Live is not just an opportunity to admire
African art, it is also a reminder to people that everyone comes from one source. Chana has become an ambassador for the Absolut brand since releasing his hit song.
Chana has also spoken about the aims of the event and said that it was important to him as part of the African Renaissance. While African art may have once been behind the scenes in terms of international awareness, it is now enjoying a creative awakening and entering a new era where it is stepping onto the stage of global arts. It is the musicians hope that One Source Live will become something to make Africa proud.
