The MIAF festival is set to be held in Maun from November 20-25, 2023. In an interview with Arts&Culture this week, Legodile Seganabeng, who doubles as the director for MIAF and chairperson of Poetvango, outlined that he is elated that after the hiatus, MIAF is finally going to take place.
“It has been a long time since the festival has been running but now the event is returning for its 10th edition and this gives me nothing but great joy,” an elated Seganabeng said.
Seganabeng further stated that the event has been growing in leaps and bounds as it has gone from being a day event to a week-long event over the years. He explained that the event comprises activities that are diverse and dynamic around the creative industry as it looks to empower the artists. He vouched that the events would be filled with nothing but gimmicks and elation.
“This will be a week-long event which will feature activities such as a literary day that includes a book exhibition and literature symposium, visual arts day which includes art exhibitions and mural paintings, open street jam session which is an expo followed by comedy night the next day which will bring heavyweights in comedy. Poetry nights will be the event for day five followed by a dinner. The last event of the week-long event will be a live music event, which will bring people together for the last day of MIAF festival,” he stated.
Additionally, Seganabeng said that their wish is to nurture the tourism industry through art as he believes art has the potential to contribute towards promoting the tourism industry. “We want to build an art tourism sector by promoting cultural tourism, which will help bring international tourists closer to the community. As much as the government promotes wildlife tourism to tourists, we also want them to see our art, learn our language, taste our food and enjoy our way of life,” he said.
He also added that there is potential for MIAF to grow the arts sector if there is a support structure that can help artists by giving them motivation and desire to create art and giving them the platform to do their art. He revealed that preparations for the event are already in full swing and running smoothly with a few hiccups here and there. “Some of the challenges we have encountered in our preparations include delayed responses from potential donors or partners. As such it is disrupting our plans and resource mobilisation. But otherwise, our preparations have been good,” he said.
