Afrovibes Festival 2024 | Belonging

During this 21st edition of the Afrovibes Festival innovative and cutting-edge work is presented by contemporary artists from Marocco, South Africa, Ivory Coast, Tunisia, Egypt and the Netherlands, among others. 

They are artists who, from an African perspective, give artistic shape to current questions and themes that also concern us. From their distinctive vision, they tell stories about who we are, what we would like to be and how we are interconnected. With their work, they respond to their environment. Be it issues of social justice, political tensions, the threat of climate change or developments on the African continent. They break through existing notions about theatre, dance and music from Africa. This year, the festival showcases the versatility of makers and artists from North Africa and the (North) African diaspora in the Netherlands.

Festival theme 2024: Belonging

A sense of belonging is like a basic human need, the need for a stable home, shelter, community and belonging somewhere. The sense of belonging gives us a basis to live together, work together and contribute to the world. With the high instability in the world, it seems as if the conditions for a stable and secure life are slipping away from us. Climate change, polarisation and the fragility of the world evoke feelings of insecurity. Migration, through war as well as the colonial past in Africa, makes people move and drift, sharpening the desire to belong somewhere. 

Based on the theme of Belonging, Afrovibes is shaping this year's festival programme with performances that have a focus on North Africa and the (North) African diaspora in the Netherlands. Each in their own way, this year's artists and their work explore how and with whom we feel connected. They delve into cultural and political debates about identity, diaspora and decolonisation. They explore our desire to belong somewhere, to have a home.

Together, they provide an artistic answer to the question of how artists in North Africa and in North African communities in the Netherlands experience their identity and their cultural heritage. The selected performances each show their own perspective on this theme through theatre, music and dance, and connect with the audience and with questions current in society.

Programma Afrovibes Festival 2024