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Stuart McClean, 2023 Featured Artist
AIH thanks our patrons, friends, sponsors, vendors and volunteers for the support, patience and understanding at this time. The African Festival of the Arts looks forward to returning in 2023. To Stay updated, please join the email list on our website AIHUSA.org
Annual African Festival of the Arts
Africa International House USA, Inc, named one of Chicago’s cultural treasures, presents the ANNUAL AFRICAN FESTIVAL OF THE ARTS inWashington Park that ismachored by President Obama’s Presidential Library and the southside museum district. The Festival is one of Chicago’s largest neighborhood festivals and the nation’s largest Labor Day Weekend celebration of Black global cultures! This traditional end-of-summer culturally immersive and interactive event brings the art, sights, tastes, sounds, and spirituality of African Diaspora cultures to Chicago - in a replicated African village! Non-stop entertainment representing the full arc of global Black music expression is featured on two stages providing the entire family with an abundance of fun activities and memories at an affordable cost!
The festival’s gated grounds are a safe zone for children who can witness extraordinary sites like the towering S.P.I.R.I.T. Stilt Walkers or engage activities from computer coding to arts and crafts with the Betty Shabazz Academy. New and experienced musicians are invited to the Drum Circle where hypnotic rhythms will revitalize you and inspire the dancer in you! Discover natural healing practices and learn from the masters in the Spiritual, Health and Wellness Pavilions in the Ancestral Grove that feature interactive activities Including cycling, yoga, meditation and Zumba dancing!
Get first edition signed books and hear from noted authors and poets in the Authors & Book Pavilion. See films by local and internationally known filmmakers in the Cinema & Black Storytelling Pavilion. Spice up your palette with culinary delights of the African Diaspora from Jollof rice to plantains and cassava greens along the Bank of the Nile Food Court. Purchase collectible fine visual arts and meet the artists in the Fine Art and Quilt Pavilions. Shop for authentic museum quality textiles, Shona stone sculptures and wood carvings that are desired for high-end interior design. Add wearable art, leather crafts and hand-made unique jewelry by acclaimed designers to your personal and heirloom collections. This eclectic family gathering has something for everyone!
The Festival grounds in Chicago’s Washington Park come alive in a simulated African village. Attendees are transported across the Diaspora with interactive engagements, vibrant drumming, museum quality and collectible artifacts, colorful and rich handwoven fabric and textile, and other program spaces and Interactive spaces include: Drum & Afro-folk Village, Children and Family, African Heritage, African Spirituality, Wellness (Health) Village, Books and Authors, Fine Art, Film and Video, Food Court, Seniors and Quilting, and the African Marketplace.
African Festival of the Arts Posters
