INDELIBLE STORYTELLER - #WETHEFOLK - FOLKLORE FESTIVAL 2024
THE THIRD EDITION OF THE FOLKLORE FESTIVAL RETURNS WITH A DIVERSE LINE-UP OF STORYTELLERS ACROSS A SERIES OF FRINGE SHOWS
It is time for this community to come together again to share in culture, creativity and heritage. To have those resonant conversations, to hold space for our shared values and to contribute to nation-building.
In the theme of this year’s biggest conversation for the greater South African audience, we too are contemplating 30 years of Freedom as we launch our creative platform for the year 2024: #WETHEFOLK. What you can expect is a rich line-up of Artivists and Storytellers: from authors, filmmakers, thespians, and oral traditionalists, to poets, selectors, sound curators and musicians.
On the road to the Folklore Festival Main Stage, the Folklore Community presents:
The Folklore Fringe Festival over 30 days, in three cities in the spirit of 30 years of Freedom Expressions. Curated by myself: your Indelible Storyteller, founder and director of the Folklore Community, Supported by the Department of Sports, Arts and Culture, and co-hosted with our venue partners: Workshop17.
Our goal this year is to build and grow our community by creating intimate bonding moments both in our ‘folklore fireside’ and ‘folklore for kids’ event formats. Giving deeper focus to the multiple disciplines of art showcased at our festival. As well as deepening the impact, intention, and meaningful work presented by our storytellers and collaborators. Our main festival will come as a finale and a celebration of the work we have done and the community we have invested in.
We are marking key dates for conversation this year and in between we have curated a fringe festival like no other. Mark my words and lean into this communities’ intentions for 2024! We are coming in unapologetically strong! We are here to do the work!
We launched our 2024 festival theme #WETHEFOLK in Cape Town on June 16, Youth Day and on Women’s month from 7 - 9 August, we’ll be doing the same in Johannesburg and Pretoria.
Our venue partners for the Fringe Festival: Workshop17, we believe hold the right spaces for conversation and the kind of collaborative intimacy we are looking to hold for our fringe shows in Johannesburg and Cape Town. Here is what the W17 Art Curator had to say…
“As a flexible workspace solution, Workshop17 not only supports the benefits of shared resources but also promotes the importance of community by fostering meaningful relationships both professionally and culturally. For us, being the venue partner for the FolkloreFringe Festival, #WETHEFOLK roots Workshop17 as integral to the sustainability of culture, creativity and community through the sharing of knowledge and experience.” - Claudia Bentel Workshop17 Art Curator
WE LAUNCH
7, 8, 9 AUGUST
#WeTheFolk Press Launch: 7 AUGUST Workshop 17: The Bank, Johannesburg
Ft. PILANI BUBU & NICKY B
#WeTheFolk: Free Activation - 8 AUGUST. State Theatre, Pretoria
Folklore Festival presents the Folk & Poetry Stage in collaboration with Black Labone’s Earth Day.
#WeTheFolk: Women’s Day Edition – 9 AUGUST, St Lorient Gallery Pretoria
Folklore Festival presents a trilogy moment for Imbokodo: An art Exhibition, Women’s Book Fair with Busisekile Khumalo and Shafinaaz Hassim - themed: Writing Women in the now and live music with KATZTHESINGER, SPARTZ and PILANI BUBU.