Culture on tour
WITH a number of artistes booked for top festivals like Geel and Rototom, Europe will not be short of reggae action this summer.
Nanook, a ‘social enterprise’ based in Kingston, plans to add some diversity to that menu.
The organisation will be represented by six of its artistic members at some of these reggae festivals, including Rototom, the largest, which takes place August 15-22 in Benicassim, Spain.
Singer Italee Watson, photographer Jik Reuben Pringle, painters Matthew McCarthy and Daniel Thompson, web designer/videographer Peter Gordon, and arts management student Ashton Ferguson comprise the artistic team.
Joan Webley, co-founder of Nanook, is manager of the party, which is scheduled to show its products at 15 locations in Germany, France and Spain.
While some of the dates include slots at artsy venues like the YAMM Club in Berlin, Webley said it is at reggae festivals where the group will gain most exposure.
“These festivals have Jamaican products, but they are no Jamaicans and it’s very important for us to represent. We’ll be taking bamboo craft, print work, jewelry.”
Nanook’s products will be presented at two German festivals: Reggae Jam in Bersenbrück, from July 24-26; and Skandalos, which is down for August 7 in Neukirchen.
The tour is co-ordinated by Alexander Cowell, a German national who works with Nanook. The organisation started eight years ago but, according to Webley, has been ‘very active’ since 2013.
A weekly live music jam, the launch of singer Exile Di Brave’s debut album The Journey Begins, and the Mamayashi fashion show are some of the events Nanook has hosted recently.
The UP! (United Purpose) Tour is part sponsored by the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Technology.