There’s something for everyone at this year’s annual MOJA Arts Festival with offerings including a U.S. theatrical premiere from Barbados, internationally known musicians in jazz, swing and reggae, and a juried exhibition featuring more than 50 regional artists.
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Charlton Singleton, a founding member of the two-time Grammy Award-winning band Ranky Tanky, was appointed MOJA’s first artistic director in March. He said directing the festival is an honor and a real full-circle moment in his career.
“I was a little boy when it started, but I was old enough to know that this was something special,” Singleton said of the festival, which started in 1984. “My first cousin, the late Robert Washington, was a visual artist and one of the original forward thinkers about this festival. He would always have his artwork on display, and he did the posters in the beginning. It was really special for me as a little boy to see my big cousin having his work on display.”
Later in life, Singleton began performing in the festival and eventually headlining. “So now to be in this position has been a tremendous full circle moment, and it’s been pretty awesome,” he said.
The festival, which celebrates Black artists and highlights African American and Caribbean contributions to culture, will take place in various venues across the peninsula from Sept. 28 through Oct. 8.
The city’s office of cultural affairs has produced the multidisciplinary arts festival since 1984, after community organizers staged three smaller Black arts festivals in 1979, 1981 and 1983.
“To be around for 40-plus years now is an amazing thing,” Singleton said. “For any festival to have that sort of longevity is a testament to the hard work that the people have done on the various committees over the years.”
A moment of expansion
The festival is currently in a moment of overdue expansion of funds and visibility, according to an April report by City Paper’s Herb Frazier. This year sees a five-time increase of the budget of the annual MOJA Arts Festival.
“So many people for so many years have thought that MOJA should have been bigger — there’s been a lot of talk about it, and so now we’re trying to make that a reality,” Singleton said.
“There’s no reason why this can’t be a larger domestic festival and an international festival, as it should be. So we’re excited about the festival this year, and we’re excited about the possibilities of the festival moving forward.”
MOJA is multidisciplinary, celebrating Black creativity in all its forms. Beyond events in music, visual arts and theater, there’s also plenty of poetry and storytelling events, many of which are free to attend.
“From the African American point of view, so many of our legendary tales are passed on through storytelling, so to have that on display as well is definitely a must, and something that will definitely continue to happen. It has for many years been a part of the festival because it’s a very huge part of our heritage and legacy,” Singleton said.
On Oct. 5, see Charleston’s poet laureate Asiah Mae perform at the Halsey Institute, where artist La Vaughn Belle is exhibiting When the Land Meets the Body, a multi-media display which reckons with colonization on both an individual and collective scale.
At Cannon Street Arts Center, Art Forms & Theatre Concepts presents Paradise Blue, a play which follows characters who work at a jazz club in Detroit. At Dock Street Theatre, MOJA festival offers the U.S. premiere of a play called Yankee Bajan, which comes from Barbados and is about the experience of the African American expatriates returning to the land of their family origin.
In music events, there’s celebrations of jazz, reggae, swing music and even a musical showcase called Queens of Hip Hop Soul. Internationally known saxophonist Marcus Anderson will perform, as well as husband and wife duo The War and Treaty at Music Farm.
“They’ve been an opening act for everybody — including The Roots and John Legend,” Singleton added.
In the visual arts, there’s the annual juried exhibition co-located at the City Gallery and the Avery Research Center for African American History and Culture, which is on view Sept. 21 through Nov. 5. The artist behind this year’s poster design, Alexandria Searles will show work, as well as more than 50 regional artists working in painting, sculpture, photography and more.
For the full lineup of events, visit mojafestival.com.
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