Blantyre Arts Festival (BAF)
Bio
Held in Blantyre over three to four days, the Blantyre Arts Festival (BAF) aims to unify and promote Malawian arts and culture through interactive capacity-building events that lead to artistic liberation and socio-economic empowerment. It was founded in 2009 by Thomas Chibambo, director of the Warehouse Cultural Center in Blantyre and winner of scholarship in cultural management training initiated by the Goethe-Institut. He identified different artists from various art disciplines to work together towards BAF. An NGO was formed and registered under a trusteeship in October 2009. It is represented by a board of five members, who also constitute the organizing committee of the festival. In 2009, BAF launched successfully with a local line-up of artists and a two-days program at the Warehouse Cultural Center.
The festival aims to publicly promote the network and raise funds for Blantyre Arts Festival and for all artists in the country; to secure organizational partnerships both local and internationally; to liberate artists' talent through entertainment, exhibitions and workshops; to hold a flagship annual Blantyre Arts Festival events to profile the diverse range of creative artists; to use arts and culture activities as a tool to reach to the Millennium Development Goals, of which Malawi is signatory.
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