the 90's way
The Kasi Vibe Festival paves the way for Namibian youth as it hosts another successful event.
The aim of the Kasi Vibe Festival is to inspire, innovate and groom Namibian youth to becoming great entrepreneurs.
Local artist Zulu is one of the few who can attest to the power of the festival in creating a platform for the youth to show off their talent. He was awarded the best stall at the recently ended festival. Zulu shares his experience with tjil.
Tjil (T): What was the inspiration behind the Gweri Village?
Zulu (Z): I got the concept from playing around with the name of the festival as I wanted to bring it to life. I wanted something authentic that represented us as Namibian people. The whole concept is driven by how most of our people live each day and I wanted to be a voice regarding that. One of the inspirations also came from a Namibian artist known as Ismael. He had an exhibition about a ghetto and I transformed his idea to make it a reality.
T: How long did it take you to set up?
Z: The setup was not difficult; it took us about three hours to complete everything. It was definitely a memorable moment and experience. We did the welding first and everything else fell into place after that.
T: Where did you get your stock from?
Z: Well I have suppliers around town and also several of the items, like the clothes, were imported. Some of the items were handcrafted goodies. My dream is to support fellow young artists that do not have these opportunities.
T: What was the response you got from those who came to your stall?
Z: It was overwhelming. Everyone that came had a connection to the shop; some felt like it was home and that was the whole idea. We did not sell alcohol but the people stayed and enjoyed themselves.
T: What do the 90s mean to you; in terms of fashion inspiration and maintaining culture?
Z: The 90s mean quality and the ability to be unique. That period of time had amazing things to wear. The games I had made people remember their childhood since now we have moved on with technology, we hardly get time to mingle like the olden days. The games showed how people can still connect without using technology.
T: How important are initiatives like Kasi Vibe Festival to entrepreneurs like you?
Z: Well, Kasi Vibe Festival has really shown that we as young entrepreneurs are capable of coming up with businesses and running them. The Kasi Vibe Festival committee did not limit any of the exhibitors and this gave us more room to bring out our creativity. This is indeed one of the best platforms. It is still growing and by the look of things it will definitely get bigger and better. It is unfortunate that most corporate companies did not sponsor the main event given that it is a youth initiative. Hopefully they will in the future.
June Shimuoshili
Local artist Zulu is one of the few who can attest to the power of the festival in creating a platform for the youth to show off their talent. He was awarded the best stall at the recently ended festival. Zulu shares his experience with tjil.
Tjil (T): What was the inspiration behind the Gweri Village?
Zulu (Z): I got the concept from playing around with the name of the festival as I wanted to bring it to life. I wanted something authentic that represented us as Namibian people. The whole concept is driven by how most of our people live each day and I wanted to be a voice regarding that. One of the inspirations also came from a Namibian artist known as Ismael. He had an exhibition about a ghetto and I transformed his idea to make it a reality.
T: How long did it take you to set up?
Z: The setup was not difficult; it took us about three hours to complete everything. It was definitely a memorable moment and experience. We did the welding first and everything else fell into place after that.
T: Where did you get your stock from?
Z: Well I have suppliers around town and also several of the items, like the clothes, were imported. Some of the items were handcrafted goodies. My dream is to support fellow young artists that do not have these opportunities.
T: What was the response you got from those who came to your stall?
Z: It was overwhelming. Everyone that came had a connection to the shop; some felt like it was home and that was the whole idea. We did not sell alcohol but the people stayed and enjoyed themselves.
T: What do the 90s mean to you; in terms of fashion inspiration and maintaining culture?
Z: The 90s mean quality and the ability to be unique. That period of time had amazing things to wear. The games I had made people remember their childhood since now we have moved on with technology, we hardly get time to mingle like the olden days. The games showed how people can still connect without using technology.
T: How important are initiatives like Kasi Vibe Festival to entrepreneurs like you?
Z: Well, Kasi Vibe Festival has really shown that we as young entrepreneurs are capable of coming up with businesses and running them. The Kasi Vibe Festival committee did not limit any of the exhibitors and this gave us more room to bring out our creativity. This is indeed one of the best platforms. It is still growing and by the look of things it will definitely get bigger and better. It is unfortunate that most corporate companies did not sponsor the main event given that it is a youth initiative. Hopefully they will in the future.
June Shimuoshili
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