// Xabiso Vili & Sonwabo Valashiya's RYD win Fak'uegsi 2022 AR Award //
Wassup wassup fam. I hope you all good. We have exciting news for you, and it seems like Xabiso Vili still can't stop winning. The inaugural Fak’ugesi 2022 Awards for Digital Creativity were hosted yesterday, to close off this year's edition of the Faku'ugesi festival in Joburg. These are the first awards of their kind, recognizing digital innovation in creativity across the countries of Africa, and the project "Re/Member Your Descendants" by Xabiso Vili and Sonwabo Valashiya won the XR (Extended Reality) award under the AR (Augmented Reality) category. Yes!!!!
A big congrats to the whole team behind the project, all stakeholders involved in the making the project possible - including the festivals and events that have exhibited the work to date - and Fak'ugesi for the recognition (also shout out to all the amazing finalists). This award comes just under a month after Xabiso was crowned World Poetry Slam Champion in Brussels, after competing against slam poets from 40 nations across the globe. We're all excited to see how the project continues to grow.
Xabiso Vili and Sthando Masuku (New Age Artistry) at the Fak'ugesi Awards 2022
Re/Member Your Descendants asks the question: if you were an ancestor, what would your descendants call upon you for? Through a series of interviews, it explores the legacy of today’s youth in South Africa. Video interviews interact with illustrations, music and poetry on a digital layer and tell a new innovative South African folk tale through augmented reality. @rydescendants is a new frontier in multimedia collaborative storytelling, merging South African traditions with digital innovation. Come and meet one of the creators of the exhibition as he walks you through the different Augmented Reality artworks on display. This project was supported by Digital Lab Africa & National Arts Council South Africa. Read more here.
Here are a couple of links you can dive into to find out more about the project:
Saison Africa 2020 Interview with Xabiso Vili and Sonwabo Valashiya
Check out Re/Member Your Descendants on Behance
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