Longest running urban culture fete, Shoko Festival has partnered with the Netherlands Embassy in Harare through a Holland–Zimbabwe collaboration in Lost – Spoken Word Journey which is set for Tuesday 21 September.
In a never-seen before creative collaboration between leading Dutch spoken word artist, Smita James and top Zimbabwean poet Shaldo, the poets will collaborate on combined themes that will be performed virtually at Shoko Festival 2021. The two will explore a world of violence against women, climate breakdown and rising authoritarianism as they speak hope and for social justice.
The Netherlands Embassy is the main sponsor of the Shoko Spoken Word Programme and the performance will lead to a presentation of Lost – A Spoken Word Journey which will feature several leading Zimbabwean poets performing about the current political and economic situation – presented in an extremely creative manner.
Lost will feature poets such as Thando, Yanta Limie, Munyaradzi Bopoto , Kuda Rice, and Banshee
“We are thrilled to be sponsoring the Spoken Word Programme at Shoko Festival 2021 that will include so much Zimbabwean talent and also renowned Dutch poet Smita James. The world is facing multiple crises – a pandemic, climate change, and social inequality. These are problems that affect us all and require collective action to resolve.
The role of art, such as the upcoming spoken word collaboration between Zimbabwe’s Shaldo and Smita James is to bring us together, and to give us fresh perspectives and jolt us into new ways of thinking and acting. Wherever you are in the world, tune in for what will be a powerful and innovative Zimbabwe-Netherlands collaboration.” said the Dutch Ambassador to Zimbabwe, Margret Verwijk.
“We’re so happy to be partnering with the Embassy of the Netherlands to present both a cutting edge spoken word programme and an event that carries such an urgent message,” says Festival Director Samm Farai Monro AKA Comrade Fatso “The artistic collaboration will be something very unique while the message we are putting out is such an important one given the times we live in.”
