program
BUJI FESTIVAL WILL UTILIZE ART, THROUGH THE “MODERN HISTORIANS” THAT ARE THE ARTISTS, AS A MEANS TO RECLAIM LOST CONTROL OVER CERTAIN NARRATIVES. THE ARTISTS ARE LIKE MODERN GRIOTS, ASKING EXISTENTIAL QUESTIONS AND SHEDDING LIGHT ON THE UNIQUE ASPECTS OF THE COMMUNITY THEY LIVE IN.
ARMED WITH A MULTIFACETED PROGRAM, BLENDING URBAN AND TRIBAL ACCENTS, WHERE MUSIC MINGLES WITH POETRY, THEATER, DANCE, FILMS, EXHIBITIONS, STANDS, AND FOOD TRUCKS, BUJI FESTIVAL WILL BE THE STAGE FOR THRILLING ENCOUNTERS AND MUCH MORE!
LIVE PERFORMANCES & DJ SETS
WE AIM TO SUPPORT ARTISTIC CREATION BY BRINGING TOGETHER AFRICAN AND BELGIAN ARTISTS FROM DIFFERENT SECTORS. THE IDEA IS TO IMMERSE THEM MUTUALLY IN THEIR DAILY LIVES, ENVIRONMENTS, AND CREATIVE HABITS. IT’S A SINCERE EXCHANGE OF IDEAS WHERE ALL INVOLVED, ARTISTS AND AUDIENCE, HAVE THE CHANCE TO EXPERIENCE A DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE OF THE WORLD AND BUILD BRIDGES BETWEEN AFRICAN ARTISTS, DIASPORA ARTISTS, AND BELGIAN ARTISTS.
WE WANT TO CREATE CONNECTIONS AMONG CULTURAL ACTORS AND ARTISTS FROM DIFFERENT DISCIPLINES AND COUNTRIES, TO REFLECT TOGETHER ON THE ROLE OF THE ARTIST IN TRANSMITTING CULTURAL HERITAGE, AND THUS REACH NEW AUDIENCES OR HAVE A DEEPER IMPACT ON OUR AUDIENCE. THE CIVIC MESSAGES CONVEYED AND SPREAD BY ARTISTS (RAPPERS, SINGERS, DANCERS, ETC.) ARE HIGHLY IMPORTANT. THEY SERVE AS REFERENCE POINTS THAT HELP US REFLECT ON OURSELVES AND SOCIETY.
MOREOVER, WE’RE THRILLED TO PRESENT A RICH MUSICAL PROGRAM FOCUSED ON THE DIASPORA. INFLUENCED BY TRADITIONAL CONGOLESE RUMBA SOUNDS, CONTEMPORARY RNB JAMS OR CAPTIVATING DANCEHALL BEATS. SHOWCASING A LINEUP OF TALENTED ARTISTS.
WE ALSO OFFERS AN ECLECTIC MIX OF DIFFERENT MUSICAL GENRES, FEATURING DJ SETS WITH THE LATEST SOUNDS FROM SOUTH AFRICA AND UGANDA. EXPECT TO HEAR EVERYTHING FROM AMAPIANO TO AFRO HOUSE, AND RHYTHMS INSPIRED BY NYEGE NYEGE. OUR DJS WILL TAKE YOU ON A JOURNEY THROUGH THE DYNAMIC ELECTRONIC MUSIC SCENES EMERGING FROM THE AFRICAN CONTINENT.
WHETHER YOU’RE A FAN OF TRADITIONAL CONGOLESE MUSIC OR CUTTING-EDGE ELECTRONIC BEATS, THERE’S SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE!
LAST BUT NOT LEAST WE WILL HAVE A VIBRANT CELEBRATION OF CONTEMPORARY AFROBEAT MUSIC! WE’RE PROUD TO PRESENT A RICH MUSICAL PROGRAM FEATURING TALENTED ARTISTS SUCH AS MISTA SILVA, HOMA HOMA, AND 1DA BANTON. GET READY TO MOVE AND GROOVE TO THE INFECTIOUS RHYTHMS OF THESE INCREDIBLE ARTISTS, BRINGING THE BEST OF AFROBEAT TO THE STAGE.
theatre & REPRESENTATIONS
THE PLAY BROUGHT TO YOU BY THE TALENTED THEATRE GROUP LE SBEULE AND DEBATE FOCUS ON THE IDENTITY JOURNEY OF RACIALIZED INDIVIDUALS IN EUROPE, SHAPED BY HISTORICAL, INDIVIDUAL, SOCIAL, AND POLITICAL FACTORS. THEY STRUGGLE TO RECONCILE THEIR ETHNIC/CULTURAL IDENTITY WITH THE DOMINANT CULTURE, LEADING TO CULTURAL DISLOCATION.
RECOGNIZING RACISM AND DISCRIMINATION, THEY EMBRACE THEIR UNIQUE IDENTITY, FOSTERING AGENCY, BELONGING, AND EMPOWERMENT. KEY IS ACCEPTING THEIR MULTIDIMENSIONAL IDENTITY AND APPRECIATING DIFFERENCES/SIMILARITIES WITH EUROPEAN CULTURE.
“EN MÉMOIRE” THEATRICAL/DANCE EXHIBITION PAYS TRIBUTE TO THOSE LOST IN POLICE INTERACTIONS. IT STARTS WITH POIGNANT MONOLOGUES AND SPOKEN PIECES, NARRATING VICTIMS’ STORIES. AN EVOCATIVE DANCE SHOW CAPTURES FEAR, ANGUISH, INJUSTICE, AND USES MEDIA TO UNDERSTAND SYSTEMIC ISSUES. “EN MÉMOIRE” FOSTERS EMPATHY, REFLECTION, AND CALLS FOR CHANGE TOWARDS A JUST SOCIETY.
MODERATOR/PANELISTS DEBATE POLICE BRUTALITY’S VARIOUS FORMS. BELGIUM HAS RECENTLY SEEN HEIGHTENED AWARENESS THROUGH SOCIAL MEDIA, DESPITE LONG-EXISTING TENSIONS BETWEEN LAW ENFORCEMENT AND CITIZENS, ESPECIALLY ETHNIC MINORITIES. EXCESSIVE FORCE DURING ARRESTS/DETENTIONS LEADS TO INJURIES AND DEATHS.
WE ADDRESS THIS CONTROVERSIAL ISSUE, PROMOTING BETTER POLICE-CITIZEN RELATIONS.
exhibitions & discussion panelS
BUJI FESTIVAL, WE WILL HOST THREE EXHIBITIONS OF RENOWNED ARTISTS. FIRST, BEING NIO FAR FROM THE SENEGALESE MALICK MILCOS, WHO TAKES US ON AN INTERACTIVE JOURNEY IN THE STARS, REVISITING ANCIENT ASTRONOMY KNOWLEDGE OF THE DOGON TRIBE.
SECONDLY, WE WILL HOST “TIFILIT” BY SAMIRA HMOUDA AND ISMAHEN GAZDALLAH THAT CENTERS AROUND CULTURAL HERITAGE AND TRANSMISSION THROUGH JEWELRY OF AMAZIGH TRIBES.
FINALLY, WE HAVE A PHOTOGRAPHIC EXPOSÉ “THE DAY AFTER” COURTESY OF CHRISTIAN TUNDULA THAT HIGHLIGHTS THROUGH THE MISE EN SCENE OF HIS ARTISTIC LENS THE JOURNEY OF MIGRATION.
“THE MODERATOR AND PANELISTS, WHO ARE THE SHOWCASED ARTISTS THROUGHOUT THE FESTIVAL, WILL ENGAGE IN DISCUSSIONS ABOUT THEIR EXHIBITION AND THE VARIOUS PROCESSES USED BY THEIR RESPECTIVE CULTURES TO TRANSMIT HERITAGE. THIS IS A UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY TO DELVE INTO THE EVOLUTION OF ARTISTIC MEDIUMS AND THE CHALLENGES THEY FACE IN PRESERVING TRADITIONS. DON’T MISS OUT ON THIS ENLIGHTENING EXPLORATION!
MOREOVER, WE WILL EXPLORE THE QUESTION OF HOW WE CAN TRANSMIT TRADITIONS AND HERITAGE IN THE DIASPORIC CONTEXT WHEN, ALL TOO OFTEN, THE NARRATIVE AND EVEN THE ARTIFACTS ARE NOT IN THE HANDS OF PRIMARY DESCENDANTS. AS WE UNCOVER INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS TO BRIDGE THIS GAP AND KEEP OUR CULTURAL LEGACIES ALIVE.
IN THIS RAPIDLY CHANGING GLOBAL LANDSCAPE, INFLUENCED BY MIGRATION, THE ADVENT OF THE INTERNET, AND THE RAPID CIRCULATION OF INFORMATION, WE BEAR WITNESS TO THE EMERGENCE OF A CULTURAL HYBRIDIZATION. COME AND BE PART OF THIS DYNAMIC EXCHANGE WHERE WE FIND OUR PLACE AND ESTABLISH CONNECTIONS BASED ON OUR SHARED SIMILARITIES AND CULTURAL DIFFERENCES.
WE WILL IMMERSE YOURSELVES IN A CAPTIVATING JOURNEY OF CULTURAL EXPLORATION, KNOWLEDGE SHARING, AND ARTISTIC EXCELLENCE. TOGETHER, WE WILL CELEBRATE THE RICHNESS AND DIVERSITY OF OUR COLLECTIVE HERITAGE.”
FILM PROJECTIONS & TALENTSHOW
SELECTED BY FESTIVAL ARTISTS AND CONTRIBUTORS, THESE SCREENINGS WILL UNVEIL THEIR UNIQUE PERSPECTIVES AND VOICES.
EXPLORE A WIDE ARRAY OF TOPICS THROUGH OUR FILM SELECTION, DELVING INTO THE JOYS AND STRUGGLES OF AFRICAN LIFE, AS WELL AS THE COMPLEXITIES OF IDENTITY AND CULTURE WITHIN THE DIASPORA. CINEMA, A POWERFUL MEDIUM, ALLOWS US TO UNRAVEL THESE SIGNIFICANT ISSUES AND FOSTER A GREATER UNDERSTANDING AND APPRECIATION FOR CULTURAL DIVERSITY AND EXPERIENCES.
JOIN US AS WE HOST THE ICONIC PATSHA BAY, THE MAIN CHARACTER FROM THE NOW LEGENDARY FILM, VIVA RIVA. HIS PRESENCE WILL PROVIDE INVALUABLE CONTEXT AND DEPTH TO OUR PROGRAM, SHARING HIS JOURNEY AND INSIGHTS.
OUR FESTIVAL’S TALENTSHOW THE HEART AND SOUL OF OUR EVENT, PROVIDING A PLATFORM FOR EMERGING ARTISTS TO SHOWCASE THEIR TALENTS AND GAIN VISIBILITY. WE EMPOWER THEM TO SHARE THEIR VOICES, CONNECT WITH NEW AUDIENCES, AND FOSTER A SPIRIT OF COLLABORATION AND CREATIVITY.
OVER THE COURSE OF THREE DAYS, WE WILL PRESENT A TOTAL OF 12 PERFORMANCES, WITH FOUR PERFORMANCES EACH DAY. EACH ARTIST WILL HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO CAPTIVATE OUR AUDIENCE WITH THEIR UNIQUE STYLE AND VISION.
THAT’S WHY WE TAKE PRIDE IN SELECTING ONE OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE THROUGH AN EXPERT JURY TO BE AWARDED A PRIZE OF 1000 EUROS, PRESENTED ON THE FINAL DAY OF THE FESTIVAL. THIS PRIZE REFLECTS OUR COMMITMENT TO SUPPORT AND ENCOURAGE EMERGING TALENT—A FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLE OF OUR FESTIVAL.