Aké Festival

Poets, authors, artists, filmmakers, dancers and musicians will be gathering to celebrate African creativity at the continent’s largest art and books festival, Aké. The fest usually takes place in Lagos, Nigeria but (like everything else) this year it’s going online, which in ‘positive-spin’ 2020 language means it’s going global. Responding to the anti-racism movements that have taken off across the globe, this year’s theme is ‘Africa Time’, with panel discussions, exhibitions and workshops exploring Black excellence, resilience and resistance. The programme features some of the most exciting Black authors putting pen to paper right now, including Zimbabwe’s Petina Gappah, Tayari Jones, winner of the 2019 Women’s Prize for Fiction, British writer and broadcaster Afua Hirsch, and Booker Prize-winner Marlon James. As well as the readings, there’ll be digi gigs from Afrofunk pioneer Blackman Akeeb Kareem and Malian vocalist Fatoumata Diawara. As festival founder Lola Shoneyin says: ‘The magnitude of recent world events cannot be ignored. It may have come later than hoped for, but, for the children of Africa everywhere, this is African Time.’