On Sunday 31 March Open The Gate, the London cultural organisation that works to promote a positive and contemporary image of African arts and culture, will be hosting a full day of events at RichMix in Shoreditch as part of the launch of their Pen and Paper Campaign.
During the afternoon there will be an African Market, running until 7pm, which will showcase jewellery, arts and crafts, books, music and, of course, food. Children attending will be able to participate in face-painting sessions and have some glitter tattoos applied!
In the evening, a charity concert will feature celebrated African musician Jally Kebba Susso with his band, Manding Sabu. Jally Kebba Susso is a Gambian kora master and ‘Griot’, and his music fuses AfroFunk, Jazz, Rock and Blues. In much the same way that trades were passed on in Europe until relatively recently, the role of ‘Griot’ goes from one generation to the next – Susso started learning the kora instrument at the tender age of seven, taking instruction from his father and older brothers. He has been touring Europe since the age of thirteen. The concert starts at 8pm, and tickets are priced at £7 (£10 on the door) with proceeds going to the Pen and Paper Campaign.
Open The Gate’s Pen and Paper Campaign is very straightforward – the organisation simply wishes to provide writing materials to several schools in the Gambia over the coming months. In fact, if you go along you can do more than donate money to the initiative – visitors are positively encouraged to bring donations of stationery along to the events on Sunday, so pop some pencils and notebooks into your bag if you’re planning to go along…
About Pete Stean
