Allianz Français was definitely on fire on International Women’s Day, a bonfire of the creative arts which its patrons definitely could not get enough of!
Supported by the African Women’s Development Fund, activities on that very special day for women were divided into two main categories: an art exhibition and a musical concert, starring the beautiful Lady J and Sia Tolno from Guinea.
Central theme of the art exhibition was an artistic presentation geared towards connecting young women in Africa to inspire the future. It featured exceptional young female artists, Adwoa Amoah and Fatric. Adwoa Amoah, centering on the phenomenon of communication through connecting energies, explored profoundly complex meanings and implications of communication, through paint and picture. Exploring with pictures of eyes and lips connected in the form of waves or with rope strands, her internal message of communication and world connectivity was intense. Her works titled, “Info Info” (after the famous Ghanaian child game), “Waves”, and “Connecting Energy” created quite some traffic!
Fatric Bewong featured the following pieces: “Self Within”, “Standing Stall”, “Yes we can” and “Amen”. Fatric plays with abstraction through color and her pieces were intended to inspire the young African woman. “Healing the Scars” was a piercing creative exploration with shades of red, blue and purple featuring a person painted in red, seemingly in meditation, surrounded by blue energy. “Yes we can” was very inspirational portraying a woman holding on to a rope and climbing up a hill and yet, looking back to help another person climb up.
After this wonderful exhibition, the musical concert was commenced, with Ama K. Abebrese as MC for the night. She was great at engaging with her audience, hyping their spirits and making them laugh. A Spoken Word performance which was to whet the appetites of the audience was performed by a representative from Fly by Mike, a non-profit organization which seeks to reach the world through the magic of Poetry. Her performance had her audience awestruck, focusing on topics such as the being Haitian, being Black, poets being the backbone of the world, God’s direction in human lives. She had her audience whistling and catcalling at intervals during her performance.
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| Lady J |
A brilliant forerunner, Lady J was introduced on stage and did she blow her audience away! Breathtaking in an array of different Afrocentric designs, merged with her wonderfully husky voice, she exuded a passionate energy which rightly connected her with her audience. Singing away through hilife and soul, the band that performed with her was amazing. A great dance track brought out everybody’s azonto skills, Nana Darkoa temporarily stealing attention on the dance floor. Slowing it down, her next performance, an R&B track, mixing the twi and English was madly emotional, creating goosebumps, and tears down the performer’s own cheeks. “Between the Sheets”, her final performance for the nights spiraled the audience to a romantic lovemaking environment. Singing “Me do wo” with a baby in her hands, it was a pretty emotional end.
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| Sia Tolno |
After a brief interlude, Sia Tolno from Guinea, and her band from Guinea sent the night to the stars. In a shiny gold outfit, Sia Tolno kicked off her performance with a flute duet. She had a powerful ringing voice. Informing her audience that she chose to be a singer to use her singing to send a message, Si Tolno continued with a song about festivals in villages, (a very energetic song, complete with ululations). A performer with much of her emotion showcased on her face, she followed this up with a love song, complete with dimming of stage lights. At that moment, her powerful, crooning voice and the shower of gold on her body made her look like a Siren, seductively beautiful and powerful, arguably a spiritual embodiment of Woman. Wailing “God save Africa” in her next song “Black Awareness”, she drew an even louder applause than before.
A surprise collaboration between Sia Tolno, Lady J, and an incredible African American singer in the middle of Sia Tolno’s performance was the greatest highlight of the night. Singing “If I never give up, I will succeed”, goose bumps were definitely raced onto skins that night, sparking the fires of motivation, calling out to the African Woman to reach into herself, her capability and her powerful future.
This moving performance was toned down as Sia Tolno switched to storytelling through song, about a blind Samaritan who helped a poor man. This then slipped in to a guitar duet which was so soulful, everyone was awestruck into silence, simply watching and listening. The only time movement was revived was when her performance ended and there was a roaring applause.
People of various nationalities were present for this august occasion, including notable personalities such as Esi Sutherland, Joseline Dumas and the FOKN Boys.
AWDF, organizers of this programme, is a grant-making foundation which is to support the work of the African women’s movement. The fund was set up by three African women who have been active in various institutions within and outside Africa, and who have a track record of successful empowerment interventions which have helped strengthen the African women’s movement. The vision of the AWDF is for African Women to live in a world in which there is social justice, equality and respect for human rights.
The night was truly a celebration of the African Woman, of who she was, is and can be.
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| Nana Darkoa |
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