Book Cafe: My Home

Book Cafe Open Mic A Platform For Career Connection

Posted by Three Men On a Boat on March 12th, 2013

It is Book Café again with BOCAPA Open Mic sessions, embracing Tuesdays with virgin tunes, dance, poetry and music.

This arts session has grown over the years to create a platform for all artists to showcase their talents, from all over the Sunshine City. Echoes of this show are heard from all suburbs regardless of their social status or hereditary understanding. Many, but to mention a few… Mbare, Greendale, Katanga, Avondale, Seke, Dzivarasekwa, Hatfield and Kuwadzana youths are appreciating and lifting this Book Café flag to the top.

This was not the case a decade ago, when most youths would just leaving their art perishing under their pillows, with strings in their meditations. 1 624 performers over the past 15 years is just a number but the real story is the rate  at which this session is gaining popularity. Free entry for performers, with instruments provided and in exchange an open-cheque appreciation from the other youths has made this occurrence a dream come true and an event not to miss. This platform has not only offered entertainment, but it is also creating career to so many artists. As they mingle, connect, discuss business and working on collaborations. Again in the audience, are producers, promoters, sponsors and publishers so hungry to solicit talents. Notable and prolific artists like Chiwoniso Maraire, Victor Kunonga, Alexio, Hope Masike and Caroline Chipindu have been excreted from this productive session, as polished and commercially viable artists in the industry.

Today, the event has become the breathing space in-between Book Café walls and the people’s hearts. As Samora Machel and 6^th Street always smell the artists’ anxiety and preparedness before the Book Café entrance. Amongst the momentarily best performers are Tally B, Mbada, Nendoro, Same Street Family, Oracle  Dhiva Sty le, Long John and all other men’s meat. This week’s Tuesday, saw a splendid first performance by Good Child back to back with Madiz. This combination left people screaming for more and more of their live instruments and their melodic backing vocals.

To understand this atmosphere only requires your presence before this visionary crowd, that is taking over Harare’s Arts and Culture with a thud, without adequate financial breakthrough but through the platform’s passion, zeal and zest. According to Hector Mugani, the Project Officer, Co- founder for Mbiravolution and Chikwata 263 band member “ Bocapa has seen a rapid growth over the years and it is now becoming very popular amongst the ghetto youths, a turn around which has even given birth to more creativity and innovation amongst the performers”. He also encouraged more ladies to start to stir up their gifts and partake amongst their male counterparts, in this vision that has brought freedom and exposure before the artists’ feet.

Hope to see you soon! Book Café BOCAPA, empowering youths in dreams with fire so strong to quench a big a big dream.

BOCAPA open mic is on every Tuesday evening.

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by VaChikepe: The Poet