Abuja Braces Up As Fringe Festivals 2022 Beckons

Leading drama and live show outfit known as Performing Arts Workshop and Studios (PAWS), Nigeria, has packaged this year’s edition of Abuja Fringe Festivals.

The company has promised to feature the event at various venues across the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.

The Festival Director, Kenneth Uphopho, who disclosed this in a statement issued Monday, stated that the Festival is scheduled to hold from December 6 to 11.

He added that the festival would bring together creative participants and delegates from various states of the Federation including, students from Kano, and Kaduna States’ tertiary institutions, and students from Nasarawa State University. Those from Federal University, Lafia, will also be in attendance to participate in all the festival workshops.

The statement read in part: “The festival will host exchange and empowerment programmes with special focus on technology for creative practice, audience development, marketing and communications with established facilitators from the US, UK and Nigeria.

“These training which is to be delivered virtually and physically, aim at re-strategizing audience engagement and reframing conversations in a positive way to make for more resilient and inclusive artistes’ communities”, he said.

“The festival activities include a collaborative project titled, Wales’ Good Cop Bad Cop;
Glimpses From The Edges, under the British Council Culture Connect Initiative – exhibiting outcomes of the project at the festival and in Wales.

“Creative facilitators such as CC Hub, Nigeria’s Ojoma Ochai, poets; Dike Chukwumerije and Bash Amuneni, Nadine Patel UK, Erwin Maas and Victor Gulley from the US, and Brighton Fringe CEO Julian Caddy will engage participants in working forums and workshop discusses that will highlight key issues, potential solutions as well as demonstrations of transferable practice.

“Festival guests are in for an entertaining ride with a live show of the widely successful experimental play Esther’s Revenge, featuring Biola Atitebi and the psychedelic Bridezella show starring Bunmi Sogade.

“They will also have access to artistic and cultural workshops, film and media events, exhibitions and opportunities to forge global connections that will build emerging creatives and improve professional ones.”

They will also proffer facilitated debates and reflections on key emerging issues from the festival’s theme, also supporting artistes to present a creative mix of theatre, poetry, film, spoken word, magic, cabaret shows, exhibitions, literature, dance and music etc.