Fak’ugesi Festival to awaken bold creativity and imagination in the 2017 Making Weekend

A firm favourite of the Fak’ugesi African Digital Innovation Festival  firm returns this year from 8 to 11 September. The 2017 Making Weekend will once again put serious emphasis on having a whole lot of fun while learning and sharing skills in all things digital and technological.

In partnership with Ericsson, ABSA Business Banking and Red Bull Amaphiko, the much-anticipated Making Weekend promises a host of exciting and inspiring activities to ensure participants truly immerse themselves in the Festival’s fitting theme of ‘brave tech hearts beat as one’.

Among the many highlights lined up for the weekend is the Fak’ugesi annual Market Hack. Hosted alongside the Neighbourhoods Market in Braamfontein on Saturday 9 September, this public and free day of fun is led by the South African Maker Collective in partnership with Redbull Amaphiko at The Grove on Melle Street in Braamfontein. The packed programme, including making a self-drawing bot, driving a mini submarine in a first person view and much more making fun is designed to intrigue, entertain and educate any member of the public, young and old.

The Market Hack is also an opportunity for festival-goers to join the Wits Engineering and Art students in creating their very own special festival pass. In collaboration with IBM Research Africa and maker Tom van Bon, Fak’ugesi has designed a unique festival pass that cleverly transforms into a flashing and beating heart.

Innovation and collaboration will also be at the heart of activities during the Block by Block  event on 8 and 9 September. Hosted by UN-Habitat, Ericsson, the City of Johannesburg and Wits University’s Department of Architecture and Planning, citizens are invited to an open design workshop using Minecraft, an easy-to- use 3D modelling game, to help develop design ideas for a public space at the Eland sculpture and Stiemens Street in Braamfontien. Following this, a professional team will unite all feedback into a single design proposal, which will be presented on the final day of the Fak’ugesi Festival on 16 September.

Those with their eye on the latest in animation will not be disappointed as the Animation Marathon makes its debut from 10 to 11 September. The Ani-Marathon is for both professionals and students and will take the form of a 28-hour challenge in which teams from across the city battle it out for top prizes, the opportunity to network and explore new practices, and have their final animations featured at Zaki Ibrahim’s performance at the Fak’ugesi Beats Bloc Party on 16 September. Interested animators can book their teams via Quicket with a minimum of three and a maximum of six animators per team.

2017 Festival Director, Tegan Bristow says the Making Weekend is part and parcel of the spirit of the Fak’ugesi Festival. “There really is something for everyone this coming weekend. With plenty of opportunities to get to learn, play and get creative, the Making Weekend is a much-loved festival favourite for good reason.”