AIM FOR AFRICA GAMBIA

THE AKONTING/BANJO COLLABORATIVE
The banjo, with its roots in Africa, has been a tremendous vehicle of American cultural expression. The AIM for Africa Akonting/Banjo Collaborative explores and celebrates this common heritage by creating a cultural bridge between Florida and the Senegal/Gambia (Senegambia) region of West Africa through rich, interactive programs including:

+ Cultural Exchanges (see below)

+ THE AKONTING/BANJO SYMPOSIUM, to view the archived symposium video, click here: http://streaming.video.ufl.edu/~video/20080320-banjo.asx

On March 20, 2008, the AIM for Africa Akonting/Banjo Symposium explored the common ancestry and unique musical and cultural expressions of the New World banjo and its West African ancestors, including the akonting, a three-stringed instrument played by the Jola people of Senegal and Gambia, and the ngoni, a plucked lute from Mali. Through presentations, discussion, and musical performances, the symposium examined the roles of the music, performers and instruments in West African and American cultures, as they relate to the trans-Atlantic slave trade, minstrelsy, bluegrass, and old-time music, and to communal life and health.

Featuring presentations and performances by Dr. Chuck Levy, Cheick Hamala Diabaté, Bob Carlin, Sana Ndiaye, Bill Keith, Ken Perlman, Laura Boosinger, Dan Gellert, Greg C. Adams, Paul Sedgwick, and Shlomo Pestcoe.

Click here for the full Symposium schedule

Click here for presenter bios

Click here to download our press release

+ AIM for Africa AKONTING/BANJO CONCERT, March 20, 2008 at the Thomas Center, 302 NE 6th Avenue in Gainesville at 7:00pm, including an introductory talk by Shlomo Pestcoe.

Opening Lecture (30 minutes) – Banjo Beginnings: The Early Gourd Banjo & Its West African Roots. (Shlomo Pestcoe with Greg C. Adams)  The banjo known today evolved from gourd-bodied plucked lutes first created by enslaved Africans in the Caribbean in the late 17th century. Noted banjo historians Shlomo Pestcoe and Greg C. Adams will offer a fascinating look at the early gourd banjo as documented in the historical record and depicted in period art. Drawing on the latest findings of recent research, they will explore the early gourd banjo’s creation in the African Diaspora of the New World and its roots in the family of diverse plucked lutes found throughout West Africa.

Performances by Cheick Hamala Diabaté and Bob Carlin, Sana Ndiaye, and the Suwannee Banjo Camp All Stars: Laura Boosinger, Dan Gellert, Bill Keith, Ken Perlman, and Chuck Levy.

2008 AIM for Africa events are sponsored by the Center for the Arts in Healthcare and Shands Arts in Medicine with support from the Digital Worlds Institute, the Center for African Studies, the State of Florida Division of Cultural Affairs, and the City of Gainesville Division of Cultural Affairs.

CULTURAL EXCHANGES

July 2007: Gambia Residency
CAHRE affiliated Faculty member/Advisory Board Chairman and Banjoist, Dr. Charles Levy spent two weeks in the Gambia and Senegal sharing musical traditions with Akonting players and performing residency activities at the Royal Victorian Teaching Hospital in Banjul. For more information, click here .

March 2008: Gambia Residency
Jill Sonke-Henderson and Cindy Nelly lead a group of College of Fine Arts students (from the IFAH student organization) and nurses to Gambia on two-week residency in the Gambia. The group brought 1,100 pounds of medical supplies and provided medical and arts in healthcare services at the Royal Victoria Teaching Hospital, Brikama Hospital, Kubuneh Health Center, and in rural villages and schools in the Gambia. More information coming soon.

March 2008: Florida Residency
Senegalese akonting player, Sana Ndiaye, will be in residence in Gainesville from March 18-29, 2008. In addition to performances and presentations in the Akonting/Banjo Symposium and Caoncert, Sana's residency activities will include public performances for patients, visitors, and staff in the lobbies, clinics, and at the bedside of Shands at UF, Shands at AGH, Shands Medical Plaza, Shands Children’s Hospital, and the Malcolm Randall VA Medical Center.

June 2008: Senegambia Residency
Nina Stoyan-Rosenzweig wil lead a group of medical students and pre-medical AMSA students to the Gambia to work at Roya Victoria Hospital, Brikama Hospital, Kubuneh Health Clinic, and in Kanuma village.