Monday, November 5th - Sunday, November 11th
Madinda's visit includes a full week of performances, workshops and class visits.
His residency will culminate with a performance at the Bridge as part of the Telemetry music series.
ABOUT THE ARTIST Xolile (‘X') Madinda is a hip-hop artist, social activist, community educator and entrepreneur based in Grahamstown/ Makhanda in the Eastern Cape of South Africa. A fiercely talented artist and rapper, X - together with Mxolisi Bodla (aka Biz) - is one of the founding members of Defboyz, one of the most influential hip hop groups in the Eastern Cape. Biz and X combine hip hop, poetry and beats with social messages and community activism to forge social cohesion. X is also one of the founding members of the Youth Art group Fingo Revolutionary Movement and Fingo Festival, a week-long annual event now in its ninth year and part of the National Arts Festival . X programmes and organizes an ambitious roster of artists and speakers, blending cutting-edge South African DJs, beats and rhymes with discussions, live art, lectures and children’sactivities.
X is also founder and CEO of Around Hip Hop, an organization that is currently building The Black Power Station, a pioneering arts space within the re-emerging industrial area of Grahamstown/ Makhanda. Alongside his artistic career, X has spearheaded a range of community and social education groups ranging from Khulumani community journalism to Save our Schools and Community Association. A visionary artist whose life is dedicated to community education and organisation, X has already made a lasting impact on the artistic and social life of the Eastern Cape and further afield. In 2014 he was invited to tour the US as part of the artists as social change movement, and he returns to the US in November 2018 for a week's residency at UVa.
View and interview with Xolile Madinda here:
Sound curator and ethnomusicologist Noel Lobley has been collaborating with X for more than a decade, and in August they co-hosted a live event in the Black Power Station, titled 'Graham's Legacy, Makhanda's Future'.
X's residency will build on long-term collaborative projects between South Africa and UVA, and is generously sponsored by the African Urbanism Humanities Lab. View the FULL RESIDENCY SCHEDULE HERE. Please RSVP to Noel Lobley, noel.lobley@virginia.edu if you would like to attend some of the events on the schedule.
INQUIRIES For further information please contact noel.lobley@virginia.edu.