Kranshoek Hosts AIR Project to Empower Artists While Celebrating African Music Legacy
The African Indigenous Renaissance (AIR) Project is set to launch in Kranshoek, Plettenberg Bay, from January 20 to March 20, 2025. This transformative program aims to equip 16 aspiring artists with the skills to thrive in the region’s vibrant tourism industry.
Participants will receive hands-on training from Professor Dizu Plaatjies (Head of the UCT Ethnomusicology Department) and Geoffrey Tracey (multi-instrumentalist, educator, and cultural facilitator). The program will blend practical business development with a deep appreciation of African music heritage.
More than just a skills development initiative, the AIR Project is a significant cultural milestone. It honours the legacy of three generations of African music pioneers, the Tracey family, whose work has influenced the preservation and celebration of indigenous African music.
Geoffrey Tracey, who has a rich background in both African and Western music, has lectured at Rhodes University, the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), and the University of Technology in Brisbane, Australia. He brings a wealth of knowledge and experience passed down by his grandfather Hugh Tracey and father Andrew Tracey, both giants in the field of African music scholarship.
Through a dynamic partnership between the Cape Town Arts Festival (CTAF), Ariva Arts Foundation, Bitou Municipality, Griqua National Conference, Western Cape Cultural Affairs and Sport (DCAS), National Arts Council of South Africa (NAC), Department of Sports, Arts and Culture (DSAC), and the Presidential Employment Stimulus Programme (PESP5), the AIR Project offers a unique opportunity for youth in rural Kranshoek to engage with the rich cultural and musical traditions of Africa. This project brings the best of academic knowledge and cultural insight, celebrating a deep heritage of music research that has shaped African musical identity for over a century.
Hugh Tracey, the patriarch of the family, began his pioneering research into African music in 1921, traveling across Zimbabwe and beyond, documenting indigenous musical traditions. His research laid the foundation for the International Library of African Music (ILAM), which was established in 1954 and continues to be a key resource in the study of African music. Hugh’s groundbreaking creation of the kalimba, an adaptation of the mbira, has become one of the most beloved instruments in African musical expression.
