Columbus African Festival

The Columbus African Festival is a bold, yet comprehensive approach to cultural reconversion and reconstruction within the African Diaspora in Central Ohio. It is grounded in the fact that many festivals which take place in the African communities are either singular or dual-focused (Film, Performing Art, Fine Art., etc.)

The Columbus African Festival as a theoretical and conceptual framework seeks to take a Renaissance approach to art and various forms of artistic expression. In this context, art is not just art for art’s sake, but is the creative cultural production of a people’s common history, common lifestyles, and their common and collective aspiration for a higher form of life and humanity. Building on the notion that 2011-2021 is the UN-sanctioned, International Decade for People of African Descent, the Columbus African Festival will showcase the breadth and expansiveness of African and Diasporan creative productive capacity with an emphasis on sustainability.

Festivals are not only for entertainment but are the artistic manifestation of a people’s values, collective personality, cultural creativity, and ultimately, their aspiration and vision of a higher level of life. Thus, in this context, the African-centered Approach to Wholistic Medicine becomes an art form. The Columbus African Festival approach would also highlight the Africanity in Music, Food, Dance, Fashion, Language, and even the artistry of the way we love when in harmony with our African self.