Johannesburg - Premium youthful festival Basha Uhuru Creative Uprising has returned to the Joburg social calendar, with an array of music, art exhibitions, panel discussions and film-inspired fun.
The festival, which kicked off on Wednesday and runs until Saturday, features an array of musical attractions, among them pop sensation Shekhinah, Afropop and amapiano singer Samthing Soweto, DJ Zinhle, Kwesta, Thando Nje, and Sol Phenduka, in its Saturday line-up.
The event comes at a time when South Africa is commemorating 47 years of the Soweto uprisings, where at least 23 young people died fighting for their rights. Many others across the country died.
Speaking to The Star ahead of her performance this weekend, sultry songstress Shekhinah has promised music fans a new and exciting delivery of her catalogue of sing-alongs, which have made her voice one of the most recognisable young voices of the current generation of musicians.
“What music lovers can expect from me is a new and exciting show. My favourite thing about my team and me is that every show is different. We love to keep our audience on their toes,” she said.
“My advice to young people as we celebrate Youth Month is for them to stay present and enjoy where we are ... The biggest challenge facing young people right now is the issue of unemployment and purpose. We have a very high unemployment rate among our youth. I feel like young people struggle to find purpose and feel that what they can and want to do is possible.”
Founded in 2021, the Basha Uhuru festival was established as a way to help immortalise the memory of the youth who fought for their right to choose in the Soweto 1976 uprising.
It seeks to also afford young people of today the freedom to explore their creativity and freedom of expression.
Over the years, it has become not just a festival but a “coming together of Con Hill’s Creative Uprising Hub to exhibit, profile, and support those in the creative sector”.
Constitution Hill CEO Dawn Robertson says her team is proud to have partnered with like-minded stakeholders to fashion what has become a flagship creative event aimed at celebrating the legacy of the 1976 youth.
“We are proud to host the 2023 Basha Uhuru Freedom Festival back at full scale as Conhill’s flagship Youth Month Event. Over the years, Basha Uhuru gave birth to The Creative Uprising, an always-on programme, including the Creative Hub that opened in 2020. Focused on development, collaboration, and upskilling creatives, the work of the hub will help to grow and support the creative economy in Gauteng,” Robertson said.
The Star