Week of 11th February: Salif Keita, Caribbean literature, Congolese Art, Poetry and Screen Nation Awards

Hello, greeting and salutations,

We are pushing into the second week of February with Valentine’s Day coming up because we are so wonderfully nice at Proud to be African Clothing and are aware of how much Valentines Gifts can cost we are giving you 10% off with the voucher code VAL10 until 25^th February 2013.

Yes, you can thank me later!!

This week we have 1 Burundian event, 2 Somali events, 3 Congolese events, music from Mali, Senegalese and African American movies, Caribbean literature, debates, talks poetry and music. And the Screen Nation Awards!

Enjoy the week!

Monday 11^th February

At 5.00pm there is a teaser of the Somali documentary Dawan (Awakening) in the Brunei Gallery, School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), Thornhaugh Street, Russell Square, WC1H 0XG. The full length documentary to come is about rape in Somalia/ Somaliland, to be followed by a discussion about the issues raised. The screening is FREE but a £5.00 donation to support the documentary makers is politely requested, more details here. 

From 6.30pm to 9.30pm Black History Studies presents Sistas In the Struggle: Women of the Bus Boycott at PCS Headquarters, 160 Falcon Road, Clapham Junction, SW11 2LN. Celebrating US Black History Month  and Rosa Parks 100^th Birthday this presentation focuses of the role of the 9 women before Rosa Parks who contributed to the desegregation of transport systems in the USA. There il be food on sale as well. Admission is £5.00, RSVP by email. 

From 6.30pm to 11.00pm Lets Talk will be holding  their Debate and Discussion Evening at Bar 19:20,

19-20 Great Sutton Street, Barbican, EC1V 0DR. Join in for an evening of strong opinions and loose tongues in a relaxed environment. Admission is £2.00 email your questions or just turn up! 

From 7.00pm to 8.30pm is Mary Seacole- The Blak Florence Nightingale? at Dalston CLR Library, 24 Dalston  Lane, Dalston, E8 3AZ, with a panel discussion on the life and work of Mary Seacole, chaired by Wilf Sullivan, the panel consists of Hackney Councillor Patrick Vernon OBE, poet and Zita Holbourne and Simon Woolley Operation Black Vote Director. This is a FREE event

Tuesday 12^th February

At 5.00pm the Royal African Society hosts Burundi 1993-2013: Looking Back on 20 years of War, Peace-building and Democracy at the Khalili Lecture Theatre, School of Oriental and African Studies, Thornhaugh Street, Russell Square, WC1H 0X. Broken down into 2 panels the first one chaired by Dr Harry Verhoeven (University of Oxford) is on Burundi from 1993 to 2013 with Professor Filip Reyntjens (University of Antwerp), H.E. Bernard Ntahiraja (Burundian Charges d’Affaires in London). The second panel chaired by Dr Aidan Russell (University of Oxford) is on Contextualising Burundi in the Great Lakes Region with Rene-Claude Niyonkuru (Burundian civil society representative), Dr Bert Ingelaere (university of Antwerp). The two panels will explore the role of the UN and AU and their respective interventions, post conflict reconstruction models, democratisation and power sharing between Hutu’s and Tutsis. RSVP for this FREE event here.

At 6.30pm is Private Equity Africa- Q1 2013 Seminar at Clifford Chance, 10 Upper Bank Street, E14 5JJ,featuring Andrew Brown (Emerging Capital Partners), Peter Maila (CDC Group), Stephen West (African Capital Alliance), Samir Abhyankar (Satya Capital), Lloyd West (Abraaj Group), Bobby Console-Verma (TLG Capital), Maria-Laure Knapp (Control Risks), Ken Ihenacho (Clifford Chance) and Razia Khan (Standard Chartered). Topics will include data analysis of 2012 deal making and fundraising, top exits of 2012, Macroeconomic overview, key sub-Saharan opportunities, risks and regulations in 2013 and more. Registration starts from £75.00 from here.

Wednesday 13^th February

At 6.00pm the Frontline Club and Royal African Society host Congo Dreams: Hopes and Prospects for the future at Conway Hall. The panel debate chaired by Patrick Smith (Africa Confidential)  is focussed on the peace process and security situation in eastern DRC. The panel will consist of Jan-Peter Stellema (Medcin Sans  Frontier DRC), Jean-Roger Kaseki (Labour Councillor and Human Rights Campaigner), Kassim Kayira (BBC Africa) and Ben Shepard Chatham House). Admission is £15.00 from here.

At 7.30pm Malian superstar Salif Keita will be performing at Royal Festival Hall, Southbank Centre, Belvedere Road, SE1 8XX, this is his first London show in 2 years with his new album The Gotan Project. The show will be opened by Spanish one man orchestra, multi vocalist Hyperpotamus. Tickets are from £10.00 to £30.00 from here. 

Thursday 14^th February

At 7.00pm the Black Arts Production Theatre presents Bring Back the Love! at The Bernie Grant Arts Centre, Town Hall Approach, Seven Sisters, N15 4RX. Hosted by Justin Watson the show consists of 3 sketches performed in front of a Guest Panel with audience participation. The panellists are Comfort ‘Onit’ Sidel, AnkhAmunet, Travis Knight and Joi Ferguson with poetry by Cezanne Poetess. Tickets are £5.00 in advance, £7.00 on the door book by phoning 0208 808 0860 or 07944 244 116.

 At 7.15pm there is the Caribbean Literary Salon at Free Word, 60 Farringdon Road, EC1R 3GA, hosted by Malika Booker this event brings together award winning writers from across the Caribbean in an intimate atmosphere to read from and discuss their work, featuring Yvette Edwards from Montserrat (author of Cupboard Full of Coats) and Raymond Antrobus from Jamaica (author of Shapes and Disfigurements of Raymond Antrobus). Admission is £8.00 (£5.00 concs) from here. 

At 7.30pm Tilt and Rich Mix presents Tilt’s London Liming at Rich Mix, 35-47 Bethnal Green Road, Shoreditch. This love themed event where you can drink, dance, socialise and experience poetry, music and spoken word will feature a special visit by Jamaican dub poet Jean ‘Binta’ Breeze MBE,  multi award winning poet John Agard, London based Balkan story teller Jelena Curcic and jazz lyricist and songstress Mellow Baku, all topped off by soca, Brazilian, reggae and dance tunes by DJ Cliffy, admission is £8.00 (£6.00 concs) from here. 

Friday 15^th February

From 7.00pm to 9.30pm The Huntley Archive Heritage Road Show will be taking place at the Hochhauser Auditorium, Sackler Centre, V&A Museum, Cromwell Road, Kensington, SW7 2RL. Eric and Jessica Huntley were radical book publishers and black political activists and educators from British Guiana who have been involved in the British African Caribbean community’s experiences since the late 1950’s. Examine objects, listen to a lecture by Eric Huntley, a performance by award winning poet John Agard and a panel discussion chaired by Makeda Coaston with Eric Huntley, S.I. Martin and Maureen Roberts. Jointly organised with The Huntley Archives at the London Metropolitan Archives. Tickets are £9.00 (£6.00 concessions) from here.

At 7.30pm we have Electric Jalaba, Ruby and the Vines, Alembic and DJ Koichi Sakai at Rich Mix, 35-47 Bethnal Green Road, Shoreditch, E1 6LA. Electric Jalaba consists of Morrocan Gnawa master musician Simo Lagnawi collaboration with London band Soundspecies. Ruby and the Vines consists of vocalist bassist Binisa Bonner, guitarist Greg Sanders and drummer Ben Assiter with a sound as reminiscent of West African Highlife as it is of 80’s post punk, while Alembic is a London based producer who fuses West African percussion, Zimbabwean mbira and Congolese buzz’n’rumble. DJ Koichi Sakai has a highly developed and unique style mixing soul, jazz, funk, reggae, Afrobeat and Latin. Admission is £6.00 (£3.00 guestlist) from here.

Saturday 16^th February

The I Dream of Congo: Narratives from the Great Lakes exhibition will be open from 9.30am to 5.00pm at the Conway Hall, this is FREE all day.

At 2.00pm African Odysseys Programme presents ‘Once Upon a Time..When We Were Colored’ and at 5.45pm ‘Chameleon Street’ at the BFI Southbank, Belvedere Road, South Bank, SE1 8XT. The first film depicts a black community in the rural south from 1946 to 1962. Actor-producer-director Tim Reid will be present for a Q&A afterwards. Chameleon Street is the fictionalised account of real life conman William Douglas Street. Introduced by film critic Ashley Clark and followed by a Q&A with director Wendell B. Harris Jnr via Skype. Tickets for each screening are £5.00 from the BFI South Bank Box Office or call 0207 928 3232 

At 6.00pm Young Somali Londoners will be holding a Fundraising Event for Somali Orphans at Oxford House, Derbyshire Street, Bethnal Green, E2 6HG. Organised by young people for everyone the evening will be jam packed with live music, poetry, open mic sessions, fashion shows, comedy, a short play and a raffle. This is all in aid of Tusmo Orphanage Camp in Burao, home to 600 orphans aged 1-9 years, admission is £5.00. More details here.

Sunday 17^th February

From 2.30pm to 4.30pm the Africa Centre, 38 King Street, Covent Garden, WC2E 8JT will be screening the Senegalese Film Faat Kine, starring Venus Seye as Kine the manager of a successful petrol station and unmarried mother of two children of different delinquent fathers the film follows her as she goes about her daily life and flits between her friends, family and job, a cheerful film that still somehow manages to be a metaphor on Senegal, tickets are FREE although a donation of £3.00 is appreciated from here.

  

From 5.30pm Screen Nation Media will be hosting the 8^th Screen Nation Awards at the Park Plaza Westminster Bridge, 200 Westminster Bridge Road, SE1 7UT. Hosted by actor Wil Johnson and DJ Sarah Jane Crawford. Achievement Awards will be presented by a host of well known faces from  black TV and movies, London 2012 Gold medallists, former Olympic Champions, Premiership footballers and other surprise guests. There will be an exclusive Champagne Cocktail Reception with Caribbean and European Bowl food , followed by the Awards show and then the After Party. Tickets start from £50.00 from here and are selling fast.

At 7.00pm Kat Francois will be hosting the Word4Word Slam at the Theatre Royal Stratford East Bar, Gerry Raffles Square, Stratford, E15 1BN with featured acts and an open mic session with music and drops from Sloetry the DJ. If you want to be part of the event email Kat François. This is a FREE event