Celebrating Africa Day at SCAD [PHOTO ESSAY]
Photos by Kristin Munson
Written by Alex Moncada
Hosting one of their first big events, the African Student Association held the SCAD Africa Day this past Friday, May 8 at the D at the Hive Field. Originally celebrated during May 25, Africa Day commemorates the unity of the African countries since its founding in 1963 by the Organisation of African Unity (OAU).
The event began with some heavy backdrop music that invited the people to move around freely while still maintaining some casual conversation. There were two sets of tables, one that offered body painting with different symbols and patterns and another table where regional African food could be found from places including Nigeria and Senegal.
The students introduced themselves and talked about what was happening in general before performing a show where the audience could marvel at African culture in four different skits. The first skit, performed by a student and the director of the club, was a drum ceremonial free style piece, where the simple bangs from the drums answered each other without any interruption, showing the audacity of the players to make the sound of such instruments be so smooth.
The second skit was a small performance based on the famous African stereotype of “Johnny” — better known as the ladies’ man. This small sketch brought the audience to laughter as three women — one of them pregnant — came to the conclusion that they all had the same “Johnny” and so they frantically began searching for him in the audience, pinpointing at several suspects who looked like they were ladies men.
“Sometimes I call him oxygen, because he’s a breath of air,” said one of Johnny’s girls.
A runway show was up next, featuring a diversity of African clothes made and tailored by the people in the club. There were dresses, robes, togas, shirts, pants and accessorizes like necklaces with a big array of colors. Entertained, the audience continued clapping as a new model took the stage proudly showing their clothing.
Finally, all the girls from the club performed a dance with traditional African moves before they opened the floor and invited everyone to dance with them. Many did as they were pumped by the performance and the beat of the music was inviting.
All in all, the event was a success. With good food, excellent music, an agreeable ambient and even selling art and accessories from Kenya, the SCAD Africa Day was a great way to show students that we are more alike than we are different.
For more information on SCAD’s African Student Association visit their Facebook page.
