To highlight a month celebrating indigenous rights and humanitarianism, the U.S. Embassy welcomed the American singer and activist, Yewande Austin, to Kinshasa! On August 22, the internationally acclaimed artist held a master class at the Institut National des Arts for approximately 20 music students and local musicians, where she shared a number of musical techniques with the participants as well as insights to her socially conscious music.
While in Kinshasa, the ECA-sponsored Arts Envoy, Yewande, performed a free concert at Showbuzz, entertaining a wide-ranging crowd of youth, working professional and officials with a selection of her hits, showcasing the diversity of American music. Moreover, she engaged important groups at a series of workshops on self-advocacy and social activism in Kinshasa and Bandundu Province, bridging the gap between cultural understandings. Overall, throughout her visit, she connected with an extensive Congolese audience in the Democratic Republic of Congo (D.R.C.) not regularly having access to American music-based empowerment initiatives.
