Reaching places, peoples and dreams through creativity

Chinyere Chukwudi-Okeh, the founder of a new project to bring together diverse voices and a variety of art forms linking Wales and Africa, reflects on its first year.

The overlapping interactions of arts, culture and creativity provide a source of inspiration to many creative individuals and organisations.

The Cultural Subsidiary of the C3 Centre, Nganga Cultural Performance Arts started over a year ago with storytelling sessions across venues in Wales reflecting an increasing demand for this art form. Gradually, drumming, dance, Oja (the Igbo Cultural Flute) and other musical and dramatic accompaniments were introduced to give the creative and cultural outings the vibrancy and vigour that comes with African Oral Storytelling renditions.

Fusion

In universities, schools, support homes, cultural communities, literary events, libraries and charity/third sector events, this unique fusion of art forms was warmly received. The team of Chinyere Chukwudi-Okeh, Valentine Chigozie Oguejiofor, Sandra Ogochukwu Nwaizugbo and Emmanuel Chinedu Chimodo organised events full of acrobatic body movements, the rhythmic shattering sound of ichaka, the dumdumbeleke sound of the African Talking Drums and the piercing crescendo/diminuendo of the Igbo traditional Oja (Flute) which could thrill the audience.

Today, through the C3 Centre for Creativity and Culture CIC, we have brought all these artistic, cultural and literary components under one umbrella that will give platform for multiple critical, creative and cultural expressions.

We will through diverse mediums of expression, engage the people of Wales and beyond to take creative flights through new expressions. And when invited, we will grace the stages of many community events, sharing creativity and exploring the many diversities of Wales.

Ripple effect

The C3 Centre for Creativity and Culture CIC look for creativity beyond borders and frontiers. Many creative and cultural experiments have been carried out to understand the needs and creative aspirations of performers and prospective audience. These tiny drops in a pool of possibilities eventually created the ripples that culminated into series of events under the wing of a young Community Interest Company.

One such event was the Annual Welsh Multicultural Christmas, organised by Chinyere Chukwudi-Okeh, the founder of C3 Centre for Creativity and Culture CIC and Nganga Cultural Performance Arts.

Its aim was to create a platform where creative individuals from diverse cultures could come together to share Christmas joy with the people of Wales through creative expression.

Multicultural Christmas

It was the young company’s first event and it witnessed a tremendous attendance of over 130 people filling up Swansea Grand Theatre’s mini depot.

There was a cross-genre engagement of creative arts through solo/duets/choir renditions, dance, literary readings and poetic renditions through the medium of Welsh, Lingala (Congo), Igbo/Yoruba (Nigeria), Brazilian and Turkish languages.

It was indeed an Annual Welsh Multicultural Christmas and we plan to maintain this tradition of celebrating our collective humanity.