Johannesburg | South Africa
African artists will finally get the opportunity that they deserve to showcase their art thanks to the Absolut African Art Intervention challenge. Through this initiative, a vast catalogue has been uploaded to the one source live website. By users up-voting images, their ranking will climb on google images search. By participating in the once source live initiative the art community can change the way in which the world sees African art but, perhaps even more importantly, it will give much-deserved credit and publicity to underrated creatives throughout the continent.
In conjunction with the platform, a full day festival, one source live will create an exceptional platform for musicians and creatives alike. The event will be held at the 1 Eloff Precinct located in downtown Johannesburg on March 24th and is expected to be one of the biggest events on the continent for the first half of 2018.
The event will be characterized by a gathering of some of Africa’s greatest and best creative revolutionaries. Absolute has a long and impressive history of advancing the careers of outstanding artists dating back to its partnership with Andy Warhol back in 1985.
The One Source Live (OSL) has been dubbed an African festival of creativity. The all-day live festival will consist of multiple stages, collaborations, and performances with the intention of rewriting and re-defining the way Africans and other countries view African creativity and art. The primary results that one would get after conducting a Google search of African art would just be images of stereotypical African art and curios, described by some creatives as ‘tourist art’.
Although this image is not necessarily wrong or unacceptable, the truth is that Africa has a lot more to offer in terms of uniqueness, innovation, and creativity, which is what Absolute intends to showcase. Currently, the continent is in the midst of an artistic revolution that has seen a new breed of contemporary artists, fashion designers and musicians come up. These creatives are helping to completely change the way that the world sees the continents and its inhabitants.
Absolut One Source Live event will feature contributions from creative forces such as award-winning rap-star Khuli Chana (South Africa / Music) alongside Sho Madjozi, (South Africa/ Music), Trevor Stuurman, (South Africa / Fashion) Fabrice Monteiro, (Senegal-Benin /Fashion, art), and Osborne Macharia, (Kenya/ Photography).
In the months leading up to the event, Absolute has initiated a major marketing campaign to bring attention to the event. They have done this in a number of unique ways including funding a four-minute long video to advertise the movement. In the video, the brand ambassadors are portrayed as superheroes and avatars inspired by Africa’s long history, mythology and the prospect of a bright future. A lot of the filming of the video took place in Ghana but featured several back-up artists and technicians from all parts of Africa.
On the day of the live event, the public can expect a comprehensive collection of artists. Most of the performances will be live and collaborative driven. The event will also have a Food Truck Collective with cuisine from South Africa as well as from across the continent. Furthermore, the event will host an art market that will showcase African creativity and products and will be available for purchase at the festival. The festival will include:
2 Stages
40+ Artists & Musicians
7 Bars
An Art Market
Shows, Exhibitions & Installations
A Foodtruck Collective
VIP Area
Ticket pricing starts at ZAR290 per ticket. To buy tickets click here