As Afrobeats continues its steady strides across the globe, Canadian-based non-profit organisation African Women Acting (AWA) via AWA Tours is building on Afrobeats success to develop and promote African and Afrobeats artistes to the world.
At four music concerts held in Abuja and Lagos, Nigeria, AWA Tour introduced three Afromusic artistes to the Nigerian audience: Cameroon-Canadian, Michael Baiye aka JBWAI, Canadian-based Nigerian singer, songwriter and activist, Sonia Oduwa Aimiuwu aka Sonia Aimy, and Lagos-based Tesla (nee David Tanimu).
Speaking to LEADERSHIP Weekend at the event, AWA Artistic coordinator, Susan Heaten, described the concert as an international cultural exchange programme through which AWA introduces Canadian Afrobeats artistes to Africa and African artistes to Canada.
Focused on the promotion of emerging artistes across several genres of art – music, dance, poetry, singer, deejay, visual arts – AWA through the exchange programme offers free training on the basics and entrepreneurial aspects of show business.
“The programme is for creatives who wants to calibrate their artform and want that support in doing so. They will get artiste development. They will get critiques, and they will get skillsets they may not know, as well as the experience of presenting their craft before unique crowds, that sometimes don’t open on their own but AWA opens those doors,” said Heaten.
Beneficiary of the AWA International Cultural Exchange Programme, Tesla, whose music career started in 2006 and is only just picking up is undergoing mentorship and training with AWA.
The artiste who migrated from Jos to Lagos in pursuit of his passion, said, “It’s tough doing music in the north.” However, with the support and mentorship of AWA, the future is bright.
“I usually do playbacks but now I can do a live show. In a short couple of days AWA has changed me. It has pushed me to be great. And also, made me believe unlike before that Nigeria will be better.”
Founded by Sonia Aimy in 2013, AWA operates two centers in Canada, one in Toronto, the other in Niagara Falls, which caters to women and all willing to learn about African culture, whilst also offering workshops where the enrolled can acquire skills from drumming to sewing, to educational, personal financing, seminars etc.
“Right now, we have more artistes to work with, which will boost the artistes’ portfolio and repertoire. We develop our artistes through the little showcases we hold throughout the year. We develop the artistes, showcase them (at our centers) and then select from them those that will feature at the annual AWA Festival which holds every August, where we have a huge crowd and different experts in the industry,” said Aimy.
“Our goal with this international exchange is that the facilitators from different countries will have to organize showcases, exchange programmes whereby you are in Nigeria today, next year when we come to Nigeria to perform, we might go to Kenya because we have another facilitator there, as well as in Jamaica, Cameroon etc.”
AWA Tour is supported by the Ontario Arts Council, Canada Council for the Arts, with local support from Cultural Advocate Caucus (CAC), Action Aid, Mambaah Bistro, Institut Francais, Embassade de France.
