South Africa Competes in Culinary Olympics

After scooping an impressive 35 golds, silvers and bronzes in the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, South Africa is hoping to add more medals to its collection as it competes in a rather different global contest: the Culinary Olympics.

Chefs from all over the world are gearing up for Internationale Kochkunst Ausstellung 2012 – better known as the Culinary Olympics – taking place from October 5-10 in Erfurt, Germany.

South Africa's culinary team has represented its country since 1980, and today is ranked tenth in the world. Most recently the team impressed at the Culinary World Cup in Luxemburg, taking seven silver medals in hot kitchen, seven silvers in cold table, a silver medal in the individual showpiece section and three bronze medals for individual entries.

In preparation for the Olympics, the team has been practising diligently for four days a month at the Centre for Culinary Excellence in Johannesburg. Chefs will be marked on teamwork, practical skills and that essential flourish of creativity.

Originally published on Arise Live

Beyonce Was Here

Beyoncé has had a busy 12 months, from being bestowed with the prestigious Millennium Artist Award at the 2011 Billboard Awards, to releasing her album 4 and directing the documentary Year Of 4, to becoming a mother. And now she’s added her superstar weight, and new single I Was Here, to launching the I Was Here campaign as part of World Humanitarian Day on August 19.

Her live performance of the song was filmed at the United Nation’s Assembly Hall in NYC. “We all see the news headlines and think ‘What can I really do to help?' World Humanitarian Day is an opportunity for all of us to work together to make a difference. This is our time to leave our mark and show that we care," she says.

The campaign aims to share billions of messages of hope around the world and encourage everyone to choose to do something good for someone else, no matter how big or small.

To make your mark, visit the World Humanitarian Day website

Originally published on Arise Live

Ten Minutes With: Me'Shell N'degeocello

After 20 years in the music business and 10 studio albums, Meshell Ndegeocello has built a reputation as a genre-defying singer-songwriter and talented bassist. Her latest album, Pour Une Âme Souveraine, is a collection of reinterpretations of songs made famous by Nina Simone. Reflecting on her heroine, Meshell has said: “She was unusual, unruly, unparalleled. She was not an industry player, she was obviously difficult and volatile. She wanted success, was pressured to make hits but her own sound was still irrepressible. She was a loud, proud, black, female voice during a time when black female voices were not encouraged to make themselves heard.” We caught up with Meshell to discuss the album and its inspiration.

In ways your quote about Nina Simone could almost be about you. You’ve also experienced industry pressure. How much do you feel your stories are similar?

I would never compare them, if only because civil rights was the issue of the day in her time and feminism was yet to come. There is still plenty of progress to make but I had lots of options, freedoms and opportunities that she did not. I’d like to think I resist the categories of the music industry in the same ways but this album was not about me, it was really about celebrating Nina Simone.

The album draws on a range of musical styles, arrangements and covers. Was your intent to introduce the world to another side of her or a side you see?

I wanted to use as many songs she wrote as I could and I tried to choose songs that offer a glimpse into her power and versatility as a player, not just a voice. But I also just chose songs I love.

There’s a new biopic coming out and Nina Simone’s daughter has expressed misgivings about the direction the film takes. Were you worried about the possibility of misrepresenting her?

I can’t worry about that. She was a complicated woman and there is no 90 minute movie that will get everything in and across. I had a chance to meet with the director and I think her intentions are good. She has her own relationship to Nina’s story and I think that’s the one she’s trying to tell. She won’t make everyone happy I am sure, but she probably couldn’t do that no matter what.

You work with really diverse and unexpected musicians including Lizz Wright, Toshi Reagon and Sinead O’Connor. How do those collaborations come about?

I looked for people who were outside the mainstream, outside the expectations, as Nina was.

Do you have any idea where your music is going next?

I sure don’t. Music keeps me searching and I can only hope it keeps you interested.

Pour Une Âme Souveraine: A Dedication To Nina Simone [Naïve Records] out now.

Originally published by Arise Live

Afrobeats: The Album

Building on the huge buzz around afrobeats, Green World Music has released Afrobeats The Hits Volume 1. The 16-track compilation CD features contributions from labels such as Chocolate City and Spyder Lee Entertainment, including this year’s smash hit Tony Montana by Naeto C and D’Banj, Aboki by Ice Prince and Ihe Neme by 2Face.

"There is a movement going on and this CD aims to put this movement front and centre of the world stage," says Victor Omosevwerha, director of Green World Music. "African artists have always been at the cutting edge culturally and this CD showcases the new school of African artists for an international audience to enjoy."

The compilation is available at HMV, Amazon and Play.com now.

Originally Published on Arise Live

Exhibition: Cut and Paste

The classic cobalt blue and white design found on Willow plates has Chinese origins, but its popularity in British homes means it is often viewed as quintessentially English. This is just one of the complex hallmarks of culture that artist Mary Evans deftly touches on in her exhibition, Cut And Paste, at London gallery Tiwani Contemporary. 

“Pattern is a strong leitmotif in my practice," says the Nigerian-born, London-based artist, who combines her art with lecturing at Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design. "However the work is rarely pure ornament but often reveals the historical, architectural or social threads of its source.”

As well as her Willow Plate Series (2012), featuring delicate paper plates created in the Willow tradition but with people in the foreground against pastoral scenes, Evans presents paper cut-outs, drawings and a new, large-scale site-specific installation.

Another piece on display is the video work Liverpool Street (2012), in which Evans – an alumni of GLOSCAT (now Gloucestershire College), Goldsmiths College and The Rijksakademie – asks how and why a location in Ghana came to be named after the famous street in London.

Cut And Paste runs from September 14-October 20 at Tiwani Contemporary, 16 Little Portland Street, London W1W 8BP

Originally published on Arise Live

London: Algerian Cultural Festival

It seems fitting that the first event in Rich Mix’s Algerian Cultural Festival is a screening of Africa Rocks The Casbah – a film about the seminal Algerian festival which took place in Algiers back in 1969.

The Algerian Cultural Festival, which takes place at the London arts centre on October 20, is the UK’s first festival dedicated to the celebration of Algerian Culture. The organisers aim to bring both traditional and post-colonial narratives to light, through art, culture, film, dance and music of Algerian origin.

Other films on the programme, in addition to Africa Rocks The Casbah, include Prends Ta Place (Take Your Place), in which director Amina Zoubir has women telling their stories in spaces typically reserved for men; Mollement, Un Samedi Matin (Softly One Saturday Morning), directed by Sofia Djama; and director Slimane Ouguenoun’s HarragaUK, exploring the realities of life for illegal Algerian immigrants in London. Some screenings are followed by talks and Q&A sessions with the directors themselves.

“The idea was born out of the desire to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Algerian Independence,” one of the festival’s organisers told ARISE. “It quickly evolved into further objectives: raising awareness about Algeria, its history and its immensely rich cultural heritage; bringing the latter to a wider British audience; and placing Algeria firmly on the map of British cultural manifestations.

“The second objective was to use the festival as a catalyser and a platform to connect the Algerian community here in London, and hopefully in time to extend to the rest of the UK. The Algerian community in Britain is fragmented and suffers from a lack of cohesion.”

The live music section of the programme kicks off at 9.30pm, featuring artists including Gnawa musician Diwan El Malouf, Sid Ahmed El Bahi, The Papers and YADi.

Originally published on Arise Live

Pieter Hugo shortlisted for Deutsche Borse 2012 Photography Prize

The photography world was stunned in 2011 with the publication of South African photographer Pieter Hugo’s photo-book Permanent Error. The stark, arresting photos pictured young boys and men from Ghana’s Agbogbloshie district standing in a blaze of noxious-looking fumes as they harvested precious metals in what had become the world’s dump for electronic goods. The social commentary was wry and powerful – what came across was a wasteland, a place residents call ‘Sodom and Gomorrah’ but for which there is really no name. 

Now Hugo is in the running for the Deutsche Börse 2012 Photography Prize, which awards £30,000 to a photographer who has contributed significantly to the medium of photography in Europe. All of the four shortlisted photographers, including Hugo, currently have their work displayed in The Photographer’s Gallery in London until 9 September. The winner will be announced on September 3.

Originally published on Arise Live

The African Café by Jollof Pot

You may already be familiar with husband and wife duo Adwoa Hagan-Mensah and Lloyd Mensah from BBC2 series The Restaurant. Studying under Raymond Blanc, the pair reached the final stages, bringing West-African cuisine to public attention. Already the owners of a successful Ghanaian catering company, Jollof Pot, and a cult food stall in London’s Exmouth Market, Spinach And Agusi, the duo are back with a new eaterie in London’s Covent Garden.
 
The African Café by Jollof Pot serves up dishes such as Gari Foto salad, grilled salmon and jollof rice with beef and mixed peppers. Longstanding fans will find the signature West African flavours they expect, including nkate nkan (peanut) and agusi (melon) seeds, as well as fresh twists to familiar dishes and new additions.
 
Head chef Hagan-Mensah says, “We welcome Covent Garden locals and those visiting to pop in and enjoy the infectious joyful atmosphere and try our wonderful food”. Don’t mind if we do.
 
The African Café by Jollof Pot is located in the heart of London’s Covent Garden, 38 King’s Street. The African Café by Jollof Pot is now open everyday between 11am – 8pm

Originally published on Arise Live