The second annual Otjomuise Live Arts Festival (OLAF) will take place from 14 to 22 October all across the city.
The 2022 edition was launched last week.
Festival-goers can look forward to live music, film screenings, theatre productions, installations, murals and talks from emerging and experienced professionals who produce diverse artistic works that engage, educate and entertain.
Taking place under the theme ‘Bridging life and art in the city’, festivities will also see goods by jewellers, potters, sketch artists, painters, graphic designers, fashion designers and local beauty products being for sale.
The theme song for OLAF 2022 is ‘Windhoek City’, produced by ML and featuring Maps. Her song came out tops following a call-out for musicians and sound artists to submit the theme song for 2022 which celebrates the heritage of Windhoek in a vibrant manner.
Co-produced by the Goethe-Institut Namibia (GI) and the National Theatre of Namibia (NTN), the festival aims to bridge life and the arts in the city by offering opportunities for live artistic forms to be showcased and/or exhibited within Windhoek’s public spaces.
Inaugurated in 2021 by GI and NTN, OLAF ultimately aspires to contribute towards a city that enables dynamic and accessible live artistic forms for critical engagements and leisure between the city’s creative production and inhabitants.
For 2022, OLAF is sponsored by the Franco-German Cultural Fund, and will be presented in partnership with the Franco Namibian Cultural Centre, Namibian Broadcasting Corporation, National Art Gallery of Namibia, the Delegation of the European Union in Namibia, Namibian Arts Association, College of the Arts, University of Namibia, Penduka Trust and Equipped Performing Arts & Corporate Affairs Academy.
The week-long festival will see over 80 artists bringing cheerfulness and enthusiasm to the hearts of the people.
Last year, OLAF took place from 06 to 13 November in Windhoek. Activities such as live music and dancing, dramas and live paint sessions took place in several areas such as the Hakahana Open Market, UN Plaza in Soweto, Tobias Hainyeko Primary School in Okuryangava, Post Street Mall, Okuryangava Women’s Centre, Otjomuise shopping centre and public parks, amongst others.
Set to happen on an annual basis, the festival ultimately aims to contribute towards a city that enables dynamic and accessible live artistic forms for cohesion, collective reflections and enlightenment.
* For more information and the full festival programme, visit olafnamibia.com