Bayimba back for an epic seventh

Bayimba International Arts festival is definitely the biggest arts gathering in Uganda, giving platforms to all different genres of arts and capturing imaginations of even more people for an entire weekend.
Since its inception in 2008, the festival has developed into a major multi-arts festival with varied and quality programming with innovative and creative ideas. The festival is eagerly anticipated by locals while artists and visitors from all over the world pour into Kampala to take advantage of this unique art experience.
This Fiday, Bayimba is back for the seventh edition and the organisers are promising a bigger and better show, with a mixed line up of artistes like Sifa Kelele, Sarabi Band, Foursum Comedians as well as more reknown acts like Angella Kalule, Haruna Mubiru and Madox Sematimba, among others, it’s going to be great.
Talking to Tsup Ug, Faisal Kiwewa, the director of the festival notes that each year the festival looks at giving a platform to different acts that have not performed at the stage before and it will be the case even this year.
“It’s about giving people a chance to be on that stage, to use that platform,” he said.
Over the years, Bayimba Arts Festival has been highly sought as a world music leaned festival, in fact, many mainstream acts have always thought they can’t be selected to perform there since they don’t play a harp or Kora, however, Kiwewa notes that they welcome all forms of arts from music, film, visual arts and dance among others,
Since 2010, Bayimba has been preceded by a number of one-day Regional Festivals up-country that reach out to people and artists in other parts of the country. These regional festivals give local talents a chance to shine alongside other Ugandan artistes on the same stage.
A lot of talents from these regional shows are given an opportunity to showcase what they are made of at the international three day festival, which makes Bayimba the only event where artistes from all regions of the country grace the stage.
The festival like the past years will not rhyme on any particular theme, according to Kiwewa, themes limit one’s creativity, since they lock them at a certain topic.
“We want people to come with their good art regardless of what it’s about,” he said.
In the past years, the Bayimba stage has been graced by amazing acts like Suzan Kerunen, Joel Sebunjo, Jamal, Bebe Cool and Anto’ Neosoul among others, Felix Bwanika, of the Foursum comedy outfit, whose group will perform in the auditorium on Sunday, can’t get over the excitement.
“We’ve been holding shows at the theater but this is a chance to show a bigger crowd what we are made of,” he said.
Festival kicks off on Friday at the National Theater and entrance is a paltry shs2000shs.