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IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT ON MBOKA 2020 AND THE G-PAC CONFERENCE

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT ON MBOKA 2020 AND THE G-PAC CONFERENCE

On Tuesday 17 March, President Barrow announced an immediate suspension of all public gatherings until further notice due to the COVID – 19 global health challenge.

We have no doubt that this would have been a wonderful conference, the presentations and the comments and communication from panel presenters has been enthusiastic and supportive. Moving forward, will involve some changes, that we hope that most, if not all of you can be part of.

Mboka Festival of Arts Culture and Sport 2021 is due to take place at the end of January/February 2021. It will also be an election year, and energies of some of the team will be prioritising this. Therefore at this stage we are proposing to have a one day commemorative event as part of the 2021 festival to honour the 121st year of the first Pan African Conference (which took place in July 1900 in London)  and to announce G-PAC 2022.

The next G-PAC, was already under discussion subtitled ‘Celebrating African Women’, since we hope to have the OWWA – Organisation of Women Writers Africa at the same time (tbc).

Our women focused papers and panels are great (as you can tell from the schedule) and some of the other presentations already have a women’s focus.

The date for G-PAC 2022 will return to end of May 2022 – exact dates to be confirmed.

Please stay well and take precautions as necessary. We hope that you can join us for the new event and conference dates. If not, we will be using this additional time to ensure ways of your involvement if you cannot be physically present. One way to do this is to set up a discussion forum around G-PAC, that would include perhaps some discussion on some of the proposed presentations if the presenters are willing to share them.  Please let us know If this is of interest.

We will stay in touch with developments as they unfold, mainly via facebook and twitter. We also have a what’s app group that will now serve for the forum as well as updates on the festival in 2021 and the festival and conference in 2022. Please let us know if you would like to join this group and we’ll send a link

Regards and best wishes

MBOKA Team

Travelling to the Mboka Festival

Travelling to The Gambia for
The Mboka Festival for Arts, Culture and Sport.

Are You Coming?
Click on the link below to download our useful information page.

 

ONLINE INFO FOR TRAVEL TO GAMBIA

 

2017 highlights
http://conta.cc/2p8Tex7
Here’s a good blog to check out about Mboka 2017
http://www.jamesmurua.com/snapshot-gambias-mboka-festival-arts-culture-sport-2017/
For more information contact:  mboakfestival@gmail.com or  info@kadijasesay.sablelitmag.org

MBOKA FESTIVAL OF ARTS, CULTURE & SPORT 2018

The Mboka Festival of Arts Culture and Sport in The Gambia in 2017 was nothing short of amazing – the fact that it happened and the experience itself.

ngugi at Amalion's stand

Here is a link to the 2017 highlights

http://conta.cc/2p8Tex7

The SABLE literary festival and International Bookfair will take place from 12-20 June 2018

A link to the draft 2018 programme will be available from Monday 3 July 2017 with signficant dates and links for other festival events taking place.

 

 

 

 

Email: info@kadijasesay.sablelitmag.org for more information on SABLE Litfest and the International Bookfair

Email: mbokafestival@gmail.com for all other festival information

Good chocolate, good friends

New York (Manhattan) 27 March

The reading at Cornelia Street Café  – it was the last place where I met Jayne Cortez, almost a year ago with Rosamond King, when they asked me to be involved with Yari Yari.

http://www.sablelitmag.org/jayne-cortez-10-may-1936-28-december-2012/

Before arriving at Cornelia St café, I had my first experience of a Manhattan ‘cross-town bus’; something I won’t be doing again! I was on my way to meet Melanie Goodreax at Steve Collin’s house and gallery on the east side, near the Nuyorican Poetry Café – which I’m told, sadly, is not what it used to be. We forgot to ask Steve, about it or maybe we just ran out of time.    Steve is  – what can I say – quintessential new york art scene –– his space is used for anything from poetry readings, artist launches; floor sleeping space for Icelandic hiphop artists… his door is always open so that people can drop in and out . On our way in, Melanie and I met a theatre practitioner friend of Steve’s who shared her Green and blacks chocolate with me  – on our way out  – students from Sarah Lawrence College  and a traveller who’d just published her first novel.

I had heard about A Gathering of the Tribes but never seen it, so was pleased to have the opportunity to see where it is birthed. It’s published once a year; with a new team each issue, then they have a big party to celebrate…  It has made me do some re-thinking around SABLE. It’s good to talk.

Sharing the stage were Marc Jaffee – a founding editor of Box of Jars, an online journal of art and literature started about a year ago, Mukoma wa Ngugi and Libby Hodges, the publisher, herself of the St Petersburg Review. Mukoma and I met several 10 years ago online – we finally got to meet in person – both of us excited – yeah! Even though he had to go straight back to Ithaca the same night so I was SO pleased, that he made such a massive effort to come. It was only that evening I realised he had a collection of poetry published with Africa World Press, Hurling Words at Consciousness.

Maria Snelling now at SLC was there – she was in a class of Ellington High School in DC when I did a session there a few years ago. She’s working with an interesting journal,untapped cities, a web magazine dedicated to art, architecture and design that helps people rediscover their city.

http://untappedcities.com

Friend and fellow writer Anton Nimblett came too, with a couple of friends and flowers!

kadija and mukoma
Mukoma wa Ngugi and Kadija Sesay