AfroPop Worldwide is hosting its first ever Icons & Innovators Benefit Party in Washington, D.C. on Sept. 29.
Like the name of the fete suggests, the occasion will honor icons and innovators of African entertainment and media industries. Cameroonian radio personality and long-time Afropop Worldwide host, Georges Collinet, is the media icon honoree; Nigerian visual artist best known for his work on Beyoncé’s Lemonade, Laolu Senbanjo, is the artist innovator honoree; and Congo-born soukous legend, Samba Mapangala, is the icon honoree.
Co-chaired by Jeffrey Sturchio, Chairman of the Corporate Council on Africa, Stephen Hendel, Producer of FELA! on Broadway, and philanthropist Rosemary Pritzker, Icons & Innovators will bring together trailblazers in African entertainment, arts, media, business and politics, and the D.C. metro area’s diverse African diaspora community to celebrate over a quarter century of Afropop Worldwide, connecting the world to Africa and the diaspora through world-class music and inspiring stories.
“Afropop is a bridge between the Golden Age of African music which continues in today’s vibrant roots pop and the phenomenally successful youth music now sweeping the continent and making inroads worldwide,” says Sean Barlow, Afropop’s Executive Director and founder.
The party also marks the return of the Afropop radio program to airwaves via D.C.'s newest public radio stations WOWD, 94.3 FM in Takoma Park, MD, and WERA, 96.7 in Arlington, VA.
Timothy and Shigeko Bork will host the Icons & Innovators Benefit party, sponsored by Walt Disney Imagineering and The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), at Georgetown’s Friendship House—a National Landmark once used to entertain presidents, members of congress, and ambassadors.
Join them for an intimate evening including a rare acoustic performance from Mapangala and witness a live painting of Senbanjo’s Sacred Art of the Ori. VIP guests will have a special opportunity to be body-painted by Senbanjo.
General admission for Icons & Innovators is $100 and the 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. VIP Reception tickets are $250. Visit here for tix.