01 Jul Celebrating Creativity: Highlights from the Basha Uhuru Freedom Festival

The Basha Uhuru Freedom Festival, a flagship creative arts event, was established to provide a platform for young emerging professionals and entrepreneurs in the creative industry to express their artistry. This festival is a hub for learning, inspiration, skill-sharing, talent nurturing, networking, collaboration, creation, monetization, and driving crucial conversations affecting the creative sector.

Creative Conference: 27th & 28th June 2024

A significant component of the festival was the Creative Conference, held on the 27th and 28th of June. This two-day event featured thought-provoking conversations and workshops curated with industry experts, aimed at sharpening creative skills and brainstorming solutions for creatives to trade. Key contributors included The National Youth Coalition, Iqhawe Magazine, and Sophie Ndaba, who hosted a panel on health and wellness. Butterfly Souls and Shamsaan highlighted the importance of creative expression and the role creativity can play in healing, activism, and change.

The Visions of Freedom Film Festival: 28 June 2024

Curated by Mmabatho Montsho, this segment of the festival honored the spirit of the youth of ’76, who demanded education in a language they could understand and learn in. The Visions of Freedom Film Festival 2024 – Student Edition focused on student films, emphasizing that, forty-eight years since the 1976 uprising, quality education remains inaccessible to many South African youth.

Makers Market x The Collab Space

This year’s curated makers market featured a pop-up shop conceptualized by two members of Conhill’s Creative Uprising Hub – Floyd Manotoana of Floyd Avenue and Andile Cele of Dope Store. This space offered a unique opportunity for creators to showcase and sell their work, fostering a sense of community and collaboration among participants.

The Basha Uhuru Freedom Festival continues to be a beacon of creative expression, honoring the past while fostering the future of South Africa’s creative youth