Trade show organizer Messe Frankfurt is partnering Africa Sourcing & Fashion Week to be held in Ethiopia, from October 3-6, 2017 by debuting its three trade show brands, Texprocess, Apparel Sourcing and Texworld alongside Africa Sourcing & Fashion Week. The African trade show is the main show for the textile, apparel and home industry in Africa.
Put together, all the trade shows will host over 250 international exhibitors from 25 countries, with the largest number of participants coming from Turkey, the United Arabic Emirates, Tanzania, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, India, Italy and Germany.
Exhibitors who have confirmed their participation include Almeda Textile, Atraco, Baykar Tekstil, Else Textile, Indochina Textile, Maa Garment, MNS, Özkan Textile, Tür Ip Tekstil, Velocity and YKK.
Other companies who too are participating include Brother Industries, FK Group, Groz-Beckert, Has Group, IMA Spa, Jack, Juki Corporation, Maya, Pegasus Sewing Machines, Silver Star, V.B. Mac and Veit.
Concurrent to the trade fairs there will be a fashion show, lecture series, a trend area and a matchmaking platform.
Talented Ethiopian designers to go international
Creative Futures is looking for the best fashion designers in Apparel and Accessories from Ethiopia. According to the organizers, the competition is a unique opportunity, which will bring talented top fashion designers to the European market. An international jury will be dedicated to select one winner who will travel to Europe and showcase his collection to the international market. The collection will be produced in Ethiopia under the supervision of a team of experts from FA254.
Deadline for application is March 27. The application form can be downloaded from the website of Goethe Institute, Addis Ababa. Shortlisted applicants will be requested to meet on April 3 and 4 to present their portfolio and work samples.
The winner of Creative Futures will have the opportunity to present his/her sample collection in the Hub of Africa Fashion Week in October 2017.
The winner will receive training by a team of professionals organized under the guidance of the company Fashion Africa 254. The final winner will be announced on April 28.
East African artists ‘break’ Guinness record for longest song
The record to beat was 3:01:50. According to Guinness World Records, the longest officially released song is ‘In the Garden’ sung by US choir PC III.
Enter Mdundo, a Kenyan-based online music publisher and distributor who sought to break the record at the recently concluded Eastern African music summit, ONGEA! In partnership with PHAT! Intellectual Property and Artville Studios, which set up a makeshift studio, Mdundo managed a feat that will go down in history by recording a 4:15:05 song. But that’s not all – 242 artists were brought together for the project.
The song has been titled ‘One People’ and drew upcoming artists, aspiring musicians who have never been in studio and established artists like Kenya’s Winyo, Nina Ogot, DJ Crème de la Crème and Chris Adwar. Slim Burna from Uganda, Munyakazi Deo and Angel Mutoni from Rwanda, Jeff Mduma from Tanzania, Macase Band from Cameroon and Lambson from Tanzania also participated.
Joe Masterkeyz, Artville’s creative producer, was tasked with recording, editing and mastering the song.
The Nile Project @ Folkmoot Friendship Center in North Carolina
A collaboration with universities across the state will bring music from 11 east African countries – all connected by the Nile River – to North Carolina for a series of musical celebrations. One such collaboration, between The Nile & African Identity, Discussion and Music Demonstration with Western Carolina University (WCU) will take place on March 13 from 10:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m at the Folkmoot Friendship Center in Waynesville.
The Nile Project features artists who develop new songs drawn from the rich diversity of one of the oldest places on earth. It uses musical collaboration to inspire, inform, and connect Nile citizens. Instruments from the Nile’s sources in East Africa and Ethiopia as well as from the deltas in Sudan and Egypt come together creating new musical styles, supporting vocals in more than ten languages.
The Nile Project was described by The New York Times as “a committed, euphoric international coalition” and National Public Radio named The Nile Project’s debut recording one of five “must hear international albums”.