A Zed Girl in Zim Part 2: My Hifa Experience Pt 2

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HIFA, Zimbabwe

Hello,

Thanks so much for all the positive reactions to my Part 1 of my HIFA experience and to everyone whose been a follower of the blog, as well as the new followers! Here’s part 2 which is the last chapter of the story

At Zi Fm HQ

MEETING SHINGAI SHONIWA: The next day was day 2 of HIFA. We woke up bright and early to make it to the radio station where Lo works called Zi Fm which is a privately owned station. Lo hosts a show called ‘Off The Wall’ on the weekends with her co-host Danny who I got to meet later on that night and is now super famous for giving Shingai Shoniwa a shoulder ride during her Hifa performance.

Lo + The Noisettes

Speaking of Shingai, Lo interviewed her and Dan and their new Noisettes band member for her radio show. I’ve loved Shingai’s style since forever, so I tried to act nonchalant when she came in. She was super nice and said hello to everyone. I got to be in the studio with Lo while she interviewed her, and the Noisettes did a private recording, which was great, because I wasn’t going to be able to see their show because I was leaving the next day.

Hanging with Shingai

I got to take a picture with Shingai and she said she loved my shirt while I complimented her on her turban.

MORE SHOOTING:

H-Town

We got to the HIFA grounds and went down to the HIVOS poetry café where ‘Trash Queens’ fashion show was happening. Designers recyclable materials to create outfits. We spent the rest of the day shooting street style, and our intro’s for ‘The Fest Guru’s’, then we checked out my clients Barefeet Theatre’s performance of ‘Tujuka Must Die’, I was a guest on Lo’s radio show. We headed home to  eat and freshen up and get ready for Tehn Diamond and Jnr Brown’s show.

Me and Miss Earth Zimbabwe

TEHN DIAMOND’S SHOW

Tehn Diamond

While Lo had to go and do more hifa stuff for her radio show, she left me in the company of some of her Zim friends as we waited for Tehn’s show to begin at the Coca Cola stage. I met lots of creative people; mostly artists and I felt like I was at one of  C1rca 1964 x   Zed Creatives brunches cuz it was all super creative people on one table and I asked them about the creative industry in Zim and spoke about the one we have in Zambia.

Lo came to get me so I could interview Tehn and Take Fizzo the dj for ‘The Fest Guru’s Show’. I was a bit nervous about doing the interview alone, but Tehn and Fizzo were really hyped, so I fed off their energy and we got the interview done a few minutes before they had to go on stage.

The show itself was amazing. I keep reliving the show in my head. It was amazing to see that everyone in the audience (well except me) knew the words to every song that Tehn did. I’ve never seen anything like that at a concert in Zambia.

VIP TINGS

After the show ended, we chilled at the Green Room which was a VIP only tent for artists. Don’t ask how we got in J I chatted to Larry of threemenonaboat about the creative industry, with Adam from Barefeet, and with Farai. We ended the night at an outdoor dj party which was fun and cold!

ALL GOOD THINGS COME TO AN END…

The next day, bright and early, Lo and her mum dropped me off at the bus station and I headed home to Lusaka. All in all, it was a quick but fun trip and I’m already talking to Lo about when next I’m going to Zim which is August for the Shako Festival. I’ll also make a stop in Bulawayo and Lo plus the ‘Fest Guru’s team’ should be in Zambia for the Livingstone Cultural and Arts festival. *Fingers crossed!

Thanks to Lo, her family, and everyone who made my Harare trip amazing!

A Zed Girl in Zim| My HIFA experience Pt 1

Tags

Barefeet Theatre, Harare, HIFA, HIFA 2013, Zambia, Zimbabwe

Our clients Barefeet Theatre were invited to perform at the Harare International Festival of Arts last week, and I decided to take the ten hour bus ride with them to support them. I have also never been to Harare (stopping through the airport in 1996 when my family moved to Lusaka doesn’t count), and I really wanted to meet Lorriane aka Loch Nation on twitter who I’d been following since she wrote a great piece about Intellectual Property in Zimbabwe on Hip Hop artist Tehn Dimond’s site. One day, I tweeted about how I’d love to get paid to travel around Africa attending cultural festivals and Lo tweeted me saying the same thing and that we should collaborate on a project. The rest is history! Essentially I was killing three birds with one stone.

View from the Jameson Hotel

GETTING THERE : The bus ride was looong and not very comfortable. We were at the Chirundu border for two hours, but we finally arrived in Harare at 8:30pm. We started off at 10:30am from Lusaka. I spent the first night at the Jameson Hotel which is quite nice, but overpriced in my opinion.

STREET ADVENTURES: So while on the bus, I tried to change my Zambian kwachas to dollars, but they were ‘finished’ and I was told to change in Harare. Me and Lo walked to three banks which all don’t change kwachas, so we were directed to a street corner near the bus station and met three men under a tree who looked super shady. They don’t ‘follow bank rates’, so I was ripped off and received $157 us dollars for 2,100 Kwacha Rebased. I wish me and Lo had recorded the whole operation, but we were afraid. Lol. The good thing is I got to see more of Harare on foot J

They Loving The Crew: (L T R): Gwi, Me, Lorraine, Zasch

THE FUN BEGINS:  We arrived at the HIFA gardens where we met Tehn Diamond briefly, then met our Camera crew/ Executive Producers/ Directors Gwi and Zasch. I barely had time to get to know them before we had to start shooting. Lo and I took part in a Djembe drumming workshop at the Simba youth zone. Apart from the teacher and us, the rest of the workshop comprised of kids who definitely showed us out. Lol. Djembe drumming is not for the faint of heart. We left with slightly bruised hands, but ready to take on the rest of the day. After shooting for a few more hours, we  left to drop off our bags at Lo’s house, freshen up, then headed to the opening ceremony of HIFA 2013.

Lo and I

Art Gallery

This HIFA app box was super cool. We even saw some of our tweets show up!

Fireworks to end HIFA Day 1.

The opening ceremony was full of people, so we could only find space near the back of the arena. About 87 songs were sang by the performers which featured hits from Micheal Jackson, Abba, Rihanna, Beyonce and more. In my opinion, it was kinda like Glee 2.0. It ended with a fireworks show, which was the perfect way to end the day! Here’s a video below which wraps up HIFA Day 1 highlights.

MORE PICS

#FestFashion: Me and Lo’s kicks

Coke branding

We Stay Working! Lo and I going over next day’s schedule

Ending the night with a cup of tea…

Gwi in between shoots

Lo in between shoots

HIFA Programme

#TheySleepWeGrind

That’s it for Part 1 of ‘ A Zed Girl in Zim’. Stay tuned for part 2 which features some cameos from celebrity guests, as well as a separate post on street style.

Where you at HIFA, would you  like attend next year?

#ZedEvents| Mangishi Love + The Carrier

Tags

African Film, Kapasa Musonda, Mangishi Love, the Carrier

MANGISHI LOVE

Mangishi Love studio

Mangishi Love

My friend Kapasa Musonda who I’ve known since I lived in New York while she lived in LA, had a launch for her new collection for her brand ‘Mangishi Love’ at her studio  and I had to go and support, because as you know I love to support talented African designers. As the models came down the runway, I oohed and aahed at almost every outfit which I NEED IN MY LIFE NOW! I will definitely be purchasing some outfits from her accessory line ‘Gishi Love’ and the clothing.

WHAT I WORE: You know how at NYFW, attendees usually wear outfits from the designers showing? I did the same and wore a bowtite that Kapasa made me as a bday present, which I also wore as a hair accessory at the Tweetup/Swap Shop. I paired it with black leggings, a green open back top, yellow belt, nude shoes and a gold necklace. I had the outfit approved by my stylists at Sarchu’s Vintage house ofcourse!

Check out Ma Fashio for more pics!

THE CARRIER

My friend Heather invited me to a screening of a documentary called ‘The Carrier’ at Top Floor in Lusaka. Heather and I had been meaning to meet up for the first time forever, but something always happened, so it was great to meet her finally.

The Carrier is about a woman named Mutinta who is the first wife of her husband, who has two other wives. One of the wives Brenda is infected with HIV via their husband, who insists on having more children despite his status. Mutinta is pregnant at the start of the movie and is HIV negative. The film is set in the Southern province of Zambia. Unfortunately, I could not stay for long, as I had to go to the Mangishi Love fashion show, but the few minutes I did watch were interesting and I would love to know what happened at the end of the film.

Radio + Brunch Tings

Tags

C1rca 1964, Lusaka, Sarchu's Vintage, Zambia

Hello,

Lot’s has happened since I last blogged, including the fact that I’ve been here in Lusaka for six months now!

Anyway, I will start with last Saturday. I hosted the C1rca 1964 x Zedcreatives Brunch II at P’zzaz. I had a great time meeting new creatives who I’d only met on twitter before, and hanging out with people I’ve met during the time I’ve been here.

WHAT I WORE: I wore a black romper from H and M with a connected gold tassle/belt and the necklace and bracelet were provided by my stylist Sarah of Sarchu’s Vintage. What to you think? I loved her chitenge peplum top and matching headband. GORGE! You can also check out their outfit options for various events in this article they did for C1rca 1964.

Unfortunately, I had to leave early. I know, bad host! lol. But I had to rush home to change into something that wouldn’t get me harassed in town where I was a guest on Pan African Radio (105.1fm) for their ICT segment. I was invited by Nshinka Lupupa of Ama Local to speak about the Social Media industry in Zambia. The station is in the same building as Radio Phoenix, where I was interviewed last October, but thankfully it was on the ground floor this time.

I asked my amazing assistant/nephew/intern Anselm to come with me for moral support, and he took pics and video, so thank u!

In order to see the pics from the radio interview, you have to visit Anselm’s Instagram page as I can’t save the pics in a JPEG format, then post unfortunately

I was particularly drawn to the vintage pictures on the walls of the Pan African Radio station which featured our first President Kenneth Kaunda and freedom fighters.

Thanks to Nshinka Lupupa and Malama  Malama for having me on their show! I am honored and humbled.

Photo Credit for Brunch Pics: Nambeye

Photo Credit for Radio Pics: Anselm

Finding Balance: Sleepless in Siavonga

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Siavonga, tourism, Travel, Zambia

On March 1, the company I co- manage called C1rca 1964 partnered up with Sir Nige of 263 Chat (A twitter chat where Zimbabwean’s discuss issues affecting them ) for a ‘Tweet@able on Tourism in Zimbabwe and Zambia’ which went really well!  One of the points raised was that Zed and Zim peeps need to be internal tourists and visit places within their countries. I agree! Plus, things were getting crazy and I needed a break!

So a day later and on my mum’s bday (March 2), my friends and I headed to the tourist -marketed region of Zambia (Southern province) Siavonga and it took way longer than the supposed 2 h:30 min it’s supposed to take. The 14 km road to the lodge was bad, but when we got there, it was so worth it!

We stayed at Sandy’s Beach and we were right by the Lake (Kariba). We went on a boat cruise as the sun was setting and I bonded with the boat owners two cute doggies. Later, we chilled by the pool and had a braii (BBQ). The next day, we went in the Lake, had bfast and headed back to Lusaka. We had wanted to stop by Ingombe Ilede which is a National heritage site and means ‘Sleeping Cow’, but the road heading there was bad and there was a chance of running out of gas. Spending the night by that tree didn’t tikcle our fancy! lol

We stopped in Kafue to braii the rest of the meat we had and to procrastinate. We weren’t looking forward to going back to the stresses of work and all. When we finally got to Lsk, there was no power for a while. What a welcome!

Have you taken a break lately? Where did you go and why? What do you think of being a tourist in your own country? How do you find balance?

One Year Later..

Its been exactly a year since I started blogging on this account, and it’s flown by so fast!Unfortunately, I haven’t blogged as often as I intended to. But let’s start where we left off, shall we? I moved back to Lusaka, Zambia in late October and it’s been an ‘interesting’ 2 months so far! Below are a few highlights.

MY GOING-AWAY PARTY

The Saturday before I left for Lusaka, my friends in NYC had a surprise party for me at Madiba in Brooklyn. They really got me good! We ended the night at a ‘Made in Africa’ party at Element. Thanks so much to the DJ;s and organizers for taking good care of me and my friends. It was an EPIC night!

NGOMA AWARDS 2012

When I lived in Zambia, I would watch the Ngoma Awards on tv, so it was an honor to end up working with the National Arts Council who produce the show. Along with Purple Tembo Media, we (C1rca 1964) provided social media consulting to the NAC by setting them up on fb + twitter. We live-tweeted throughout the show which was also live-streamed.

My outfit for the night was a skirt from the ‘J Label’ line by Jewel By Lisa and a peplum top from F21. And I rocked a brand new hairstyle

ZAMBIA ART + DESIGN FAIR

I checked out the Zambia Art + Design fair in November at the Showgrounds. There were clothing and handbag designers, and lots of decor and furniture. Loved the table with the horns! You can read my review of the event here.

 MOBILE MONDAYS

The Bongo Hive peeps invited me to a Mobile Monday Lusaka event where people could pitch their app ideas to a set of informed judges and the public. I look forward to attending more MoMoLsk events. Follow Bongo Hive on twitter @BongoHive .

TODAY WITH ZAMTEL

‘Today with Zamtel’ is a travel and cultural show that highlights important places/ monuments etc that have contributed to Zambia’s rich history. It’s hosted by Ngosa Chungu, who is amazeballs and who has been instrumental in helping me settle down in Zambia and has introduced me to #Zedcreatives in Lusaka. Today With Zamtel airs on ZNBC every Thursday at 8PM Zambian time. Oh and watch till the end so you see my name in the credits as ‘Research Assistant’.

Thanks to everyone that’s read my blog the past year and commented. Looking forward to the next one year!

Maz

Hanging With Alek (Wek)

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Alek Wek, MTV Base Africa, South Sudan, Vanessa Mdee

What would you do if you were offered a once in a life time chance to sit down with an influential African fashion icon/ model? And what if that opportunity was taking place at the same time as your last exam of your undergraduate studies? You take a risk, miss the exam, take the opportunity, then write a long something-came-up-so-I -can’t-take-this-exam-today letter. I am a huge believer in the idea that there are no coincidences in life, so you do what you gotta do.

Anyway, So in May, I got to meet the Alek Wek, a woman who changed the perception of beauty in the fashion industry and who has many notable achievements to her name. I was selected as the Zambian panelist for ‘MTV BASE Meets Alek Wek’ along with the following panelists.

MTV Base Meets “MTV Base MEETS… with MTN is a multimedia campaign and youth empowerment platform that has been created to give the young people of Africa a way to engage global icons. As part of the initiative, African youth are being given the power to ask decision makers and world leaders the big questions!”

The interview went well, even though I was super nervous! I asked how Miss Wek ventured into launching her handbag line and I also asked what one would find in her bag on a regular day. She was great, personable and she commended all of us for the work we do.

What I liked about the MTV Base Meets experience was meeting the panelists, some of who I’m still in touch with and the fact that we were spotlighted as individuals as we got to do solo parts.

I also got to meet the lovely Vanessa Mdee (the host) who I had been in touch with on twitter for a while before the filming. She reps Tanzania, has her own radio show and is now filming her new show ‘VEE Worldwide’. She’s also an activist and attends conferences on HIV/AIDS prevention around the world. You will remember her for hosting the red carpet of MTV Africa Awards. Love her!

My DVD of the episode just came in the mail  and I promised my friends that I would wait to watch it with them first, but I kinda got tempted and cheated by watching the first few minutes.  Did you watch it? What did you think? Let me know in the comment section

Flashbacks I

Summer is technically over in New York, and it’s been a great one. So here’s a photo collection of what I got up to, including attending concerts and lots of eating! I’m so happy I get to experience two summers this year, since it will be summer in Zambia when I get there.

Graduation

I love Thaii!

Visiting Uncle Obama.

Attended the UN Youth Assembly

Private tour of the MET (Metropolitan Museum of Art)

At the UN Youth Assembly

Chipotle Demolition

Hanging with Kenya’s ‘Just A Band’

Good times with ‘Just A Band’.

Magarita Mondays!

Butterfly Aquarium

Butterfly Aquarium

Butterfly Acquarium

At the Miss Africa 2012 pageant.

Spoke at the Nigerian Leadership Conference.

My friend Yolanda performed at Central Park.

#TeamZambia

At the Sudan Independence Day Celebrations with Mohammed Dione and Marie.

Girls Night Out

Girls Night Out 2 with Ba Linda  Mulenga Nsunge. Check her out on tumblr 
http://unikuemoda.tumblr.com/

How was your summer? What fun things did you get up to? For those back in Africa, are you gearing up for an epic summer?  Let me know in the comments.

#Haute #African #Events (May ed) + News

Hello!

Apologies for the lack of updates. I must do better! I’m working on content that I believe will be more useful to you guys. In the meantime, we are now in the month of June which means summer = braiis (barbecues) and lots of concerts which I plan to attend.

DESIGN AFRICA

*Above pic is from Design Africa’s site.

‘Design Africa’ was a panel on African fashion held at the Soho House in Manhattan in early May.  Heritage was part of the event, so I attended as well. It was a really insightful discussion and in my opinion, it was different than the usual African fashion panels we attend because there was a more diverse audience than usual. The event got press from style.com, ecoterre and more.

EMPOWER ZAMBIA

In April I received an email from a co-worker of a friend about the possibility of me attending a fundraiser for Empower Zambia in Dallas, Texas which was to be held the weekend of May 10. So I accepted, ended up giving a speech and had a great time supporting a wonderful cause which you can read about + donate via their site. It was my first time in Dallas and I had an amazing time, so thanks to all who made my trip memorable.

DANCE AFRICA

I caught the last day of the the Brooklyn Academy of Music Dance Africa festival which is held over memorial weekend (end of May). It’s always a cool place to check out street style, eat jollof rice and catch up with friends. I met up with the lovely and talented Sam Kessie who is a film director, producer and she also shoots some of my friend Iya Dede’s music videos. Speaking of Dede, help fund her next album here + get some goodies. Sam captured some street style as shown in the image i ‘borrowed’ frm her blog, as did one of my fave photographers J Quazi King on his tumblr. I purchased the top below from a brand called Wada Africa. I used the hair tie which came with it as a belt and wore it to work already.

PS: I was featured as one the ‘35 under 35‘ by Young People in International Affairs. I was in the media section and I was and still am honored that i was featured on the list with amazing people i admire. It was a pleasant surprise.

What #Haute #African #Events did you attend in May and which ones are you looking forward to attending in June? Let me know in the comments.

#Haute #African #Events (April ed) + More

Tags

Bez, Chipolopolo, Ger Duany, Nigeria, South Sudan, YAV, Zambia

The months keep flying by, don’t they? Personally, I’m glad its May because this means graduation and a whole new journey which I’m excited about. Plus, memorial weekend is always fun. However, it’s  time to recap some #Haute #African #Events I attended in the month of April. Due to school, I wasn’t able to attend as many events as I usually would, so I’ve added some events I didn’t personally attend, but know people who did.

African Economic Forum (CUAEF)

Colombia University had it’s annual Africa Economic Forum and I attended for the second year in a row. There were exciting panels on music, fashion, traditional medicine and more. Heritage 1960 had a pop-up shop, so Marie and I helped with that. I only managed to attend one panel which was the one on fashion. I tweeted via the Heritage account and my tweets even ended up being spotlighted on blogger Terrence Sambo’s One Nigerian Boy site Photographer Shako Oteka did a style round-up of the fashionable people at the conference for Afripop Mag which you can check out.

New York African Film Festival

I was really excited about the line-up for the 19th edition of the New York African Film Festival. Last year, I caught ‘Restless City’ at the conclusion of the festival at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. This year, I missed out on seeing ‘Stock Town Africa’, ‘How to Steal 2mln rand’ and ‘Mama Africa’ because the festival ran around the same time as the Colombia event. The festival is still running, so maybe I’ll see if I can make one or two films.The folks over at Africa Is A Country provided lots of reviews which you can check out here.

Africans In The Media and Creative Industry

AMCI is a new initiative by Peter Jalloh of the Daily Beast and Newsweek. A launch event was held organized by MUI PR in NYC which I couldn’t attend unfortunately. However, here’s a review from the event and I hope it is held again soon.

Events to Look forward to this Month (May)

We’re almost halfway through May, but there are some exciting events lined up like BAM Dance Africa which celebrates its 35 anniversary this memorial weekend in Brooklyn, NYC. Check the site for more info.

My friend Ger Duany has an event coming up at Lucky Strike in Manhattan, NY. He’ll be talking about the situation in Sudan.

I’m speaking at an event for ‘Empower Zambia‘ this weekend in Dallas, Texas. If you’re in the area, stop by.

Young African Visionaries magazine is supporting our cover girl from our first issue at a fundraising event for South Sudan.

Nigerian artist Bez, whose song ‘That Stupid Love’ song is a new fave of mine and has played on BET’s 106 and Park will be in NYC for a couple of performances including one at an Apple Store in Soho, one in Brooklyn via Society Hae and more. Do check him out.

And last but not least, some shameless promo. I was interviewed by George of ‘The Afropolitan Experience’ a few weeks ago and the video interview is now live. You can watch it below. Let me know what you think (other than telling me I say ‘Like’ way more than is acceptable.lol) Also, check out my tribute article to the 1993 Zambian National soccer team that died in Gabon and the current Africa Nations Champions via isthisafrica.com.

Any #Haute #African #Events you’re looking forward to attending this May? Do share