The Airtel Sondeka Festival: A Story from the ‘Driving Forces’
Also referred to as ‘Africa’s first annual creative festival,’ Sondeka - the brainchild of Liz Kilili - serves as a platform for artists to showcase their talents and passions, promoting Africa as a center for creativity and investment opportunities.
Using the hashtag #wearetheones, we thought it important to find out why the creatives are the ones championing the creative revolution for societal change.
Gemini Vaghela: Artist
They create paintings, charcoal drawings and murals. So how important is this festival to her? “We make and sell artwork and jewelry.There’s nothing like this in Kenya. It is a new,innovative concept to show that there’s something creative happening in Kenya.”
Abdi Rashid Jibril: Music
We know him as the face behind the hugely popular choices Thursday Night Live in Nairobi. “I speak with the team at Creatives Garage and find out what they are interested in. I then go out looking for names, showing profiles, viewing video clips until I get feedback from the Creative team. I therefore converse with artists and find out if they are interested in performing at sondeka.” The first artists he brought to the stage included Mercy Myra and Sarabi.
He notes that challenges facing his role are that artists’ enthusiasm can decrease and not deliver as expected. However, he sees this as a positive experience since various other artists are always looking for platforms.
David Muriithi aka DJ Delight(CEO of Creative Enterprise Centre)
He is an inborn creative and one who nurtures a capacity building center for creatives all over Africa, as he trains entrepreneurs on how to run business better. He was the Emcee, during the launch on Friday. So why was this festival so important to him? “It is extremely important because I am a creative, I work with creatives and have been a creative entrepreneur for over 27 years. To see collaborations like this and ensure that creativity comes alive, means everything to me as that’s what I live for.” Having advocated for policies in the field of creative and cultural development, He goes on to say that acknowledgement in the creative economy is extremely important, especially by African Governments. This is because such initiatives are being recognized as the engine for growth and youth employment.
Sandra Chege: Festival Manager
As the festival manager, we asked Sandra what it takes to manage such a huge undertaking. “Patience, and the ability to think on your feet,but also an understanding of what it is to be an artist and to understand how artists want to be represented.” She adds that the people tend to be the biggest challenge. However, she hopes that at the end of the day, people can find a connection to what they love. Be it the music, art, fashion or innovation.
DJ Knord
He is the greatest combination of business accumen and creativity, leaning on his training as a lawyer. Representing Santuri Safari as a DJ and Producer, his role is to get everyone interested in something new and different. “ Sondeka is important in that it provides 2 different platforms- commercial and alternative art platforms.” When asked about the importance of his role to such an event, “ It doesn’t have to be mainstream music but your type of music. Santuri is there to rediscover, rebrand and sell the new East African sound. That’s why Sondeka festival is very important.”
Sarabi
Sarabi Band managed to entertain the crowd just before Bengatronics took to the stage on Friday evening. Mandela, a member of the group said, “It is important because people come together. For example, Santuri brings artists from all over Africa, hence unifying people in a more positive way.” Adam added, “We were there when it started till now. It has grown big and so has the culture. It is not all about Kenya, but music from all over Africa. Tanzanians, Kenyans and even today we have Ghanaians.It empowers the youth and the musicians to broaden their mind.”
Together, they believe that there’s no limit in the growth of artists.
