Bree and Henry Nxumalo streets in Johannesburg’s Newtown were recently a hive of activity as hip hop giants, graffiti artists, skateboarders and MCs turned the inner city into a creative artistic space for the third annual British Council co-sponsored Back 2 the City festival. Performers included Notshi, Leniandro, Smerf and Driemanskaap.

The event, which was sponsored by the British Council, Red Bull, the Gauteng Youth Commission, the French Institute of South Africa and Alliance Francaise, aims to promote the once infamous inner city and turn it into an artistic, safe and fun place while teaching the youth about career options in the arts.

Music blared and laughter echoed as the M1 bridge was covered in graffiti. There were also clothes, accessories, mixtapes and albums available at affordable prices.

Aside from being entertained, audiences attended an educational summit, which was held at City Varsity. Hosted by the British Council, the workshops provided a platform for professionals and young people to interact and exchange knowledge.

People from the media industry covered topics such as publishing, distribution, recording, music videos, entrepreneurship and advertising.

British Council Project Officer Nomalanga Nkosi says the British Council has been one of the partners of this festival for the past three years.

‘Back 2 the City is an urban youth festival which is highly attended by the youth. The people that attend Back 2 the City are the kind of audience that we want to reach through our work.

‘This year the British Council was part of the panel that answered the youth’s questions,’ says Nkosi.

‘Each year the Back 2 the City festival has a summit where they invite arts practitioners and cultural agents to answer questions from the youth. We were part of that seminar and the youth was very eager to find out ways of being involved in British Council’s cultural programmes.’

Nkosi says during the evening’s live performance the British Council got an hour slot to showcase the Words and Pictures (WaPi) initiative that will start in July.

WaPi, a British Council initiative that was launched in East and West Africa, is a platform for underground artists to meet and showcase their abilities in a public forum.

' When I left, there were about 5,000, so it was really packed. The people who attended were aspiring performers and creative entrepreneurs.

Festival goers sold T-shirts, beadwork , CDs and other things; that is exactly what we are trying to promote with our Creative Enterprise programme. We want artists to be able to support themselves financially.'

The pillars under the M1 Bridge have been painted annually during the Back 2 the City event since 2007.

‘It’s amazing to see young people of different races getting together to enjoy street culture and to witness the Johannesburg CBD being transformed,’ said a Grade 11 pupil that attended the festival.

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