Arts to meet fashion as part of the 20 Years celebrations.

Arts to meet fashion as part of the 20 Years celebrations.

By Brian kajengo

As South Africa celebrates 20 years of  Freedom and Democracy,  two art Meets Fashion (#amf) events will be held firstly in Johannesburg during the month of June and secondly in Cape-town later in November.

On Friday 13 and Saturday 14 June 2014, MyArts International will host the first ever Art Meets Fashion Joburg where young people in the creative industry will showcase talents in Fashion, Modelling, Film, visual and performing arts. The event aims at promoting local talents and creating a platform for young entrepreneurs in the creative industry to network. The Art Meets Fashion Joburg will incorporate an arts exhibition; craft Market, Fashion Showcases, Modelling Workshops and creative business expo. Emerging Fashion designers from various corners of the country are encouraged to use this opportunity to promote themselves by staging a fashion show or just exhibiting.

The Art meets fashion (#amf) is a component of the Yebo Msanzi program created to promote SA Creative industry. This development program aims at creating powerful marketing, branding and sales activities which will allow men and women who love the creative industry, fashion, visual and performing arts, film and tourism to expand their business reach and interact with other local , national and international artists and designers.

The mission of this program is to create local and global partnership for development in order to foster job creation and to support the growth of new and existing businesses by providing capacity building information, tools and resources. Our focus is to develop and empower businesses within the arts fraternity and business in order to strengthen their business capability and survivability.

The special modelling workshops to hold on both days will give an opportunity for young models to gain first-hand with workshops covering the skills, tools, and industry trade secrets to take any project further. It will really assist aspiring models to acquire skills, and get tips from industry leaders.

While the Art Meets Fashion Joburg (#amf) will feature an art Exhibition with New and old art works, give Photography, Film, Visual arts catalogues, Research and documentation, a special attention to crafters who focused on African Traditional Items. Ceramics, Pottery, Wood carving, Embroidery, Appliqué, Tapestry, Weaving and Textile design.

Organisers are expecting participation of  Designers, Artists and Models, Arts collectors, Business executives, Celebrities and Socialites, Diplomatic Bodies in South Africa, Fashion Industry Executives and buyers, Film Makers, actors, Financial Services Leaders and investors, Government officials, Marketing & Sales Executives, Magazine Publishing Executives& Editors, not forgetting the who's who of Msanzi .  Both workshops and fashion shows are free.

Interested people can contact MyArts International on 078 112 8880 or email amf@myarts.co.za

Monica Watkins, a very successful Ford model/artist/philanthropist, created Art meets fashion movement. In 2008 she combined her passion for helping others and her understanding of the power of art and created Art in Motion. Art in Motion serves as a platform to seek out and nurture young, disadvantaged artists and allowing them to reach their potential and enhance the world around them by setting an example of giving, hope and achievement. Art in Motion emphasizes charity, social consciousness, artistic freedom and global harmony.

Yebo Mzansi is a development and exchange program created to promote Brand SA and SA Businesses within many events hosted by stakeholders in South Africa and in the United States of America with the hope to grow participating businesses and individuals using available platforms in

conjunction with the SA Creative, Economic and Tourism communities.

Yebo Mzansi “Yes South Africa in isiZulu” gives the appreciation shared by MyArts International and its stakeholders.

The Yebo Mzansi Arts Development program primarily aimed at providing capacity-building, support and new opportunities to visual artists based in Africa.

Yebo Mzansi has adopted the United Nation Millennium Development Goal number 8 which encourages us to develop a global partnership for development. Yebo Mzansi program seeks to develop further an open, non-discriminatory trading between the North and the South. In cooperation with the private sector, and government, to make available benefits of new technologies, and especially information and communications for emerging artists.