Carnevale at Essence

The Essence Festival is one of Durban's largest cultural events. It is a collaboration between the sister cities of New Orleans and Durban. Curate.a.Space was responsible for the Visual Arts in 2017.

​

The theme we selected was "Carnevale" which was a reference to New Orleans annual Mardi Gras. This theme drew a large number of exciting performers and artists from South Africa resulting in a show which examined both the excitement and the darker side of a traditional carnival.

 

The event was held at the International Conference Centre alongside a programme of music and talks as well as a Book Fair.

​

Photographs by Paulo Menezes and Osmosis Liza