Sudanese, South Sudanese artists to perform in Kampala

The concert is organised by Andariya – a digital and cultural platform in Sudan, South Sudan and Uganda – in collaboration with the Arab Fund for Arts and Culture, Source Africa and 32º East – Ugandan Arts Trust.

The performing artists include Ade the Truth (South Sudan), Kawaja Revolution (South Sudan), Salma Palmer (Sudan), Barood Black (Sudan), Dennis Denaya (South Sudan) and Mohamed Hashim (Sudan).

An Andariya workshop on digital branding and marketing for musicians was held today at 32º East – Ugandan Arts Trust ahead of the concert. Some of the topics covered included how to create engaging content, how to build an artist brand, how to find opportunities to connect with artists and how to find opportunities to tour.

“After the workshop experience, I realised the need to rethink how to push myself online and attract sponsors and investors,” Denaya told Music In Africa. “Most of us from South Sudan have not grown into brands, not because we have no following but because we don’t know how to use social media positively or to our advantage.”

Andariya founder Omnia Shawkat said she hoped that artists would employ social media to grow their fan base and create an online space for Sudanese and South Sudanese contemporary music to flourish.

“We initiated this concert project to engage artists on improving their digital branding and marketing to widen their fan base,” Shawkat said. “Eventually we hope that this project will strengthen the cultural relations between Sudan and South Sudan. We hope the participating artists will collaborate and co-create within and beyond the project.”

She said a number of the participating musicians were already using social media to engage fans and to promote their music. Nevertheless, she highlighted the need for the artists to attain professional training in digital marketing and online content creation.

“We've definitely seen an uptick of online content creation and engagement across the platforms of the musicians we're working with but there is always room for improvement. Growth doesn't happen overnight and the learning is also continuous on both ends,” Shawkat said.