The Ake Arts and Book festival has been running for more than 10 years as one of the foremost literary festivals out of Africa. Helmed by Lola Shoneyin, the event has cemented itself as a necessary and impactful celebration of African literature, art and its supporters. Its yearly occurrence brings together writers, authors, poets, filmmakers, scholars, artists, and literary enthusiasts from all over the world to experience book chats, talk about their work and engage in intelligent conversations and entertainment in the form of either film screenings or stage adaptations.
Since its inception, the Ake festival has created an environment where the literary community converges to build relationships and promote the art and culture of the continent. In doing this, the festival has also implemented themes that encapsulate the aim of each year. This year however, Ake festival has diverted from implementing a theme to guide the activities of the festival. Instead, a theme has been chosen for the 2023 edition of Ake Review, the festival’s annual journal. In anticipation of the 2023 Ake festival, we take a trip down memory lane, citing a few of our favorite Ake festival themes.
2013 – Shadow of Memory
The very first Ake Arts and Book festival was centered on one of the events offered during the festival titled Shadow of Memory, a panel discussion where four teenagers interviewed veteran writer, Wole Soyinka. Asides from that, there were other rich panel discussions like Hollywood in Conversation with Nollywood, where the ethics of casting in films like Half Of A Yellow Sun was discussed. The festival offered more activities like art workshops, book chats and a stage adaptation of Lola Shoneyin’s The Secret Lives Of Baba Segi’s Wives was performed. Catering to young children, writers in attendance were assigned to visit schools to encourage children to take an interest in reading, by engaging them in discussions and readings from their own books. The Ake 2013 festival was an inspiring time for book lovers, and the beginning of what will become a staple in the African literary scene.
2014 – Bridges and Pathways
For the 2014 festival, emphasis was placed behind the theme Bridges and Pathways, which the founder of Ake Festival interpreted as a time to “build bridges between African people, especially along language, ethnic and gender lines, and charting new paths with the aim of creating synergy and cultural cross-fertilisation on the African continent”. Regardless of the shared identity as Africans, the continent has always been divided by fundamental barriers like cultural differences. The 2014 theme acknowledged the importance of banding together and becoming more tolerant of each other’s differences, in literature as well as society. It also carried out photography exhibitions, and a film screening of Kunle Afolayan’s October 1. A pulse point for the event was a panel discussion with former president Olusegun Obasanjo, who spoke about his time in the army and the Nigerian civil war.
2016 – Beneath this Skin
By the thrid year, Ake festival had already racked up support from the writing community in Africa and it had become an event to anticipate. The organisers continued with steam, inviting Kenyan literary icon,Ngugi Wa Thiong’o to headline the festival activities. The critically acclaimed writer was interviewed about his life and work and he also spoke about his critically acclaimed memoir, Birth of a Dream Weaver. Beyond the captivating time listening to Ngugi Wa Thiong’o, attendees were also spoiled with more panel discussions that touched on issues like gender, mental health in fiction, race, and book chats from many more reputable writers like Habila Petina Gappah, Teju Cole.
2017 – This F-Word
The feminism discourse as a whole is a very complicated area, however, it is even more peculair in the African continent due to societal nuances. As such, concious efforts are taken to address its ideologies and centre women – because otherwise, women would remain overlooked. The fifth edition of the festival was themed “This F-word”, chosen to explore feminism in African literature, and its impact in different forms of art. The festival centered women, showcasing the talent of female artists, writers, filmmakers and music acts.
2018 – Fantastical Futures
Prior to the 2018 Ake festival, the event was routinely hosted in Abeokuta, Ogun state, however, in 2018 it was held for the first time in Lagos, and since then, every festival has been in Lagos. Its theme, Fantastical Futures, was selected because Lola Shoneyin wanted to create something other than the previous Ake themes which looked into the past. The 2018 theme was a nudge to stir conversations towards the Africa they desired. The event was opened by then vice-president, Yemi Osinbajo and offered its usual activities like book chats, panel discussions and a concert.
2020 – African Time
When the world was locked down due to the Covid 19 pandemic, Ake festival regrouped and adopted the virtual system that had become more popular over the few months. The theme for the 2020 festival was initially theme Black Magic, however, as a result of the move to virtual, it was rethemed African Time to reflect the frustration suffered by Africans and their resolve to “break the cycle of betrayal”.
2022 – Homecoming
In a search for greener pastures, people are forced to migrate, leaving behind some families and core communities that have contributed to who they are. The 2022 Ake theme was fashioned towards the significance of the return back home, after time away. Panel discussions ranged from dissecting who has the right to tell African stories, to the strain caused by the “japa” wave and its effects on civil and political participation in Nigeria. Many more enlightening panel conversations and book chats were had, as well as an entertaining concert night where Bantu band, Adunni & Nefretiti performed.