Last week I announced that the 2018 Melanesian Arts and Culture Festival (MACFest) had an online presence. This week the Solomon Star reported that the main program for the upcoming 6th MACFest is now available online and interested people can get a glimpse of what the festival will be like.
The National Organizing Committee (NOC) has released the program and is encouraging the public to view the main festival program online. The program with information on participating countries can be viewed on the Official Festival website by clicking here.
According to the program, performing arts dominates the event which will engage the bulk of participation and audience interest. This is the main component of the festival featuring much of the festival highlights and engaging about 80% of participants. Activities under this category range from dance to music and theater, the organizers said.
Sixty percent of activities under this category will be traditional dances, showcasing the vast cultural diversity in Melanesia.Thirty percent is in various music forms such as circular, contemporary and ethno music. The remaining ten percent consist of drama performances including creative and modern dance styles. There will also be an interactive space provided through Jam House where musicians from participating countries can interact and share with one another.
The second category is Traditional and Contemporary Arts which contains the biggest number of activities relating to both traditional and contemporary art respectively. Eighty percent of what is going to be exhibited is in traditional art form, whilst the remaining twenty percent in contemporary forms.
Traditional and Contemporary Arts range from Sculpturing & Carving, Body Ornaments & Jewelry, Weaving, Pottery, Traditional Currencies, Tattooing, Fire-Walking, Canoeing & Navigational Art, Culinary Arts, Traditional Healing and Traditional Games.
The third category is Visual Arts which include paintings on canvas, graphics, children’s’ art, Architecture, Photography and Fashion. Much of the visual arts exhibitions will be showcased at the National Arts Gallery in Honiara and the Crafts Market Center. Photography will be located at the Solomon Islands National University, whilst the Fashion shows at the Multi-Purpose Hall.
The fourth category is Literary Arts will gather writers, publishers, Poets, story tellers (oratory), historians, theater and film producers from Melanesia converging together in a week long festivity to exhibit, showcase and share their experiences with one another and their audiences. Most of the Literary Activities will held at the National Museum Auditorium, whilst Film and Oratory to be held at the Solomon Islands National University, Kukum Campus Lecture Theater.
The fifth category involves Workshops, Symposiums and Forums. There will be a ‘Melanesian Symposium’ to be held during the festival. The topic is “New Horizons – Exploring the Economics of Culture and the Potentials of the Creative Industries in Melanesia”. Other workshops and symposiums to be held during the festival include Ethno-Music Workshop, Culture & Education, Cultural Industries, ICHCAP-Pacific Young ICH Practitioners Meeting.
Honiara, Solomon Islands
Chair of the Programs and Events Sub-Committee, Dennis Marita said the Melanesian Arts & Cultural Festival has always been a show of strength and pride as a people with humongous wealth of cultural diversity and resources. “The Festival will just be another extravaganza of cultural diversity at its best which will comprise of several categories and each of these with different genres,” Mr Marita said.
The event will run from July 1- 10 in Honiara, Solomon Islands and will coincide with the country’s 40th Independence Anniversary celebrations.
Island Time 