Artwork displayed at the Empire Arts Center for African night. Photo by Nicholas Nelson/The Dakota Student.

The rhythmic pulse of African drum beats provided a backdrop for a night of cultural exploration Friday at the Empire Arts Center.

“Africa in Our Own Words and Colors,” the first African arts festival to come together in Grand Forks, kicked off with a vibrant display of visual and performing arts and a buffet of traditional African foods.

Hamzat “Amoussa” Koriko, a Ph.D. candidate at UND, organized this event with one goal in mind: to highlight diversity within the Grand Forks community.

“I’d like to break that gap between going to school and having a lot of diversity on campus, and none once we step into the city,” Koriko said.

He hopes to implement it on a larger scale.

“How can we find a platform that is able to get the community together?” Koriko asked. “What formula should we use to solve that issue?”

In an answer to his own questions, Koriko teamed up with the city council, the African Arts Arena and various community groups and members interested in making the dream a reality.

“We don’t really celebrate in the United States the coming together of not only African people, but the people of the African diaspora, and their allies thereof,” head of Multicultural Student Services Malika Carter said. “This is the first time ever that there is something that is extremely wide, this is city wide!”

The event not only attracted locals, but brought performers from all over. Dance, poetry and music made up the majority of acts.

Also on display were Koriko’s playwright talents, with a short scene depicting a time of war from the eyes of a young African girl. Amy Driscoll, an actress out of Fargo, was called upon to play the part, and delivered her role with remarkable emotion.

Although only about half of Koriko’s play was performed at the festival, “Innocent Selves” is in the works to be performed in full with a set and musical accompaniment.

“People need to be aware that there’s a world around us that’s not just this community and that there are real people going through these real situations, and it’s important for us to learn, and do something about it if we can”, Driscoll said regarding the heavy subject matter of the piece.

The contrast between such a serious topic and the more lighthearted performances gave the audience a brief, but broad view of African life and culture.

With the success of “Africa in Our Own Words and Colors”, Koriko hopes to inspire other cultural groups within the community to host similar events.

“Us as minorities need to create something for us, and it is up to us to ask if we want this,” Koriko said. “I stepped up and asked for this, and it is working”

Serianna Henkel is a staff writer for The Dakota Student. She can be reached at [email protected].