The Fak’ugesi digital festival that dazzled Johannesburg last week connected ancestral knowledge with modern digital creativity and explored how ancient art and symbolism continue to influence the modern world. It showed that African innovation is not an imported trend, but an inherent expression of its identity, weaving ancestral wisdom with its digital tools. The intersections of African creativity, technology, and culture were explored at the Tshimologong Digital Innovation Precinct last week, running from 7 to 12 October.
“Fak’ugesi powers up Johannesburg with African tech, art and culture we celebrate through the latest technology, from AI to XR gaming and animation to digital storytelling, well grounded through our culture and our heritage,” said Mark Harris, chief executive officer of Tshimologong Precinct, during a media launch for the event.
“In Africa, innovation is in our DNA. It is based on our stories, our communities, and our identity,” said Harris.
For me, this underlines the fact that innovation in Africa is not borrowed from elsewhere, but something we live, inherit, and continue to pass on. Growing up, I witnessed people transform limitations into opportunities. They discovered new uses for everyday materials, while artists merged tradition with modern expression. It was always a blend of art and innovation.
“What started just as a spark, a snagling of artists, gamers, coders, cultural innovators, has surged into what we now call the African digital innovation festival today,” said Harris.
As such, the festival is a testament to the continent’s vibrant and rapidly growing digital landscape, bringing together diverse talents to showcase and shape the future of technology and creativity in Africa.
A playground for ideas
The festival’s programme featured a range of exhibitions, screenings, and installations that highlight digital art and technology-driven storytelling. The Power Surge theme got my imagination going, especially with topics like ancestral intelligence and climate-conscious design on the agenda.
Fak’ugesi festival director Alby Michaels describes Power Surge as more than just a theme, saying “It’s a call to action.”
The festival explored topics like artificial intelligence, immersive experiences, climate-conscious design, and ancestral intelligence, built on the core principle of blending the ancient with the modern. It was a playground of ideas, featuring a range of exhibitions, screenings, and installations that use digital art and technology to tell powerful stories.
“These experiences are designed to spark wonder, to spark play, to spark possibility, showing that digital creativity is not just the future of work, but it is the future of fun,” said Michaels.
Experiencing the surge
The surge experience was the festival’s central feature, guiding attendees through three dynamic locations that explored the intersection of African heritage and digital futurism. These were:
The Wits Anglo American digital dome: The AfriVerse: Step inside our stories
For the first time at the Dome, visitors were immersed in Afrofuturist projections and 360-degree storytelling. The highlight was the premiere of Kwasukasukela (meaning “in the beginning”), a digital storytelling piece followed by African mythology and poetry. The story blurred the lines between past, present, and future, demonstrating how ancestral narratives continue to inspire and shape modern innovation.
Michaels said: “It is an immersive projection mapping that reimagines a contemporary African creation myth, weaving together poetry, animation, traditional instruments, and spiritual deities.”
The Origins centre: The proto-surge programme
This location forged a direct link between the ancient and the digital age. The programme explored how ancient art and symbolism have influenced and continue to shape contemporary digital creativity.
Tshimologong precinct: Future focus – Making in motion
Serving as the festival’s main hub, Tshimologong Precinct hosted the Future Focus programme, where attendees engaged with workshops and viewed showcases featuring innovative digital projects, video games, and cutting-edge AR/VR installations. Attendees also participated in talks and masterclasses led by both local and international creators, sharing insights into the future of design and digital creativity.
African talent on a global stage
Fak’ugesi is a platform dedicated to amplifying African talent. It featured a showcase from The Afrique Creative, an acceleration programme that supports 15 creative entrepreneurs from 10 different countries. In addition, the Immersive Africa programme, supported by EUNIC spaces of culture programme, lit up the dome with full-dome works from creators across Africa, Europe, and South America.
Lodi Matsetela, cultural and creative training programme designer, said: “We have entrepreneurs from Tunisia, Morocco, Berlin, Côte d’Ivoire, Cameroon, Senegal, Kenya, Uganda, including South Africa, who all participate in the cultural and creative industries.”
It felt like witnessing a celebration of African creativity, an experience that is rooted in heritage yet boldly carving out the future. It reminded me that the most powerful resource I carry into tomorrow is found in the stories of yesterday. This is not only a festival, but a space where culture meets innovation.
*Angelique Mogotlane is content manager of Gadget.co.za, World Wide Worx. Follow her on Bluesky on @angelique31.bsky.social.