I want to create example of excellence with Ake – Lola Shoneyin

The director of Ake Arts and Book Festival, Lola Shoneyin, has said she wants to create an example of excellence in the way the festival is run.

Shoneyin said this in a zoom  press conference where she pointed out that the festival aims to keep to time and attain excellence in other areas where Africa is found wanting.

“I also want to demystify the notion that leadership is for men alone. I personally think that it is the woman who will save this continent,” she said, adding that the African woman’s challenges prepare her for leadership.

In its eighth edition, the 2020 Ake festival is holding virtually with guests from across the world, including the Nigerian Nobel Laureate Wole Soyinka, Djibouti’s Abdourahman Waberi who has received many awards and fellowships, Hip Hop artist Akua Naru, André Leon Talley who was creative director at Vogue, Kenyan blogger James Murua, and many more.

For the first time, Ake, scheduled for October 22 to 25, is holding online and is pre-recorded to avoid internet hiccups. “We are currently working on the graphics and making sure everything’s perfect,” Shoneyin said, adding that some of the audience in Amsterdam will be watching the event in a viewing centre.

The 2020 theme, ‘African Time’, was changed from ‘Black Magic’ to reflect the reality of the times as regards healthcare, among other issues, in Africa.

Some of the events that would be omitted this year as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic include school visits where authors read to and interact with students and also training workshops. Bookstores will also be replaced by a display of book covers on the festival website for purchase.

Shoneyin explained that when she discovered that the Ake festival headliner, ‘Maryse Conde’, who has written so much about Africa is sick and may be unable to communicate, a series of interviews was set up with nearly twenty women writers to talk about her.

At this year’s event, Shoyinka, who is also an antique collector, is going to talk about his twenty favourite pieces, Shoneyin revealed. “As they are shown, his voice will be heard in the background,” she said.

The Ake Arts and Books Festival has brought over 700 artists, writers, poets, musicians, dancers, filmmakers, actors, and thinkers together to dialogue and celebrate creativity on the African continent through panel discussions, art exhibitions, workshops, storytelling, book chats, poetry performances, a concert, stage play, and film shows.