Tribute To Women Sets Its Sights On A Pan-African Cultural Future

Rooted in South African women’s history, the Johannesburg festival wants to build cross-border solidarity, creative enterprise and new platforms for African women artists.

Tribute To Women may be rooted in South Africa, but the story it tells belongs to a wider African conversation about women’s resistance, creativity, leadership and economic power.

The festival returns to Mark’s Park in Emmarentia, Johannesburg, on Saturday, 29 August, with a line-up featuring Msaki, Sjava, Mafikizolo, Nomfundo Moh and Busiswa.

The 2026 edition marks the 70th anniversary of South Africa’s historic Women’s March, connecting the courage of the women who marched in 1956 with present-day artists, entrepreneurs and community leaders.

Dr Criselda Kananda, Tribute To Women Ambassador and Chairperson of the Malibongwe Arts Festival Foundation, said the experiences of South African women resonate across the continent because struggles for equality and recognition are connected by shared themes.

“Celebrating South African women in a way that speaks to Africa acknowledges interconnected histories and creates solidarity beyond borders,” she said.

“It recognises that our cultural expressions, music, dance and storytelling, are part of a larger African conversation that can inspire collective action, mobility for artists and mutual support networks.”

Festivals can help build those networks by making women visible in every part of the cultural value chain. Women appear not only as headline performers, but as producers, traders, suppliers, administrators and business owners.

Workshops, mentorship and access to new audiences can give emerging creatives the skills and relationships needed to grow sustainable careers.

For Kananda, this visibility can shift cultural expectations. When women lead on stage and behind the scenes, younger women see practical pathways into industries in which their work has often been underfunded or overlooked.

Cultural events can generate direct income while creating connections that lead to touring, collaboration and wider market access.

Tribute To Women also treats festivals as living archives. Performance keeps songs, dances and oral histories in circulation, allowing elders and contemporary artists to pass knowledge to younger generations.

Documentation, residencies and mentorship can give that exchange a structure, preserving cultural memory without preventing it from evolving.

This year, the festival plans to honour established and sometimes overlooked cultural figures, including Mildred Mangxola of the Mahotella Queens, alongside contemporary performers. The combination reflects an ambition to make heritage visible while investing in the artists who will carry it forward.

The next stage of growth could take Tribute To Women beyond South Africa through artist exchanges, touring showcases, pan-African partnerships and digital distribution.

Kananda’s vision includes year-round residencies, incubators and training programmes that support women’s cultural entrepreneurship rather than limiting the project to an annual event.

“Ultimately, we see Tribute To Women as a sustainable engine for cultural preservation, economic empowerment and cross-border solidarity that showcases African women’s creativity on local and global stages,” she said.

Gates open at 11:00 and the event ends at 19:00. Children under five enter free.

As audiences gather in Johannesburg, the festival will celebrate a distinctly South African milestone. Its longer-term opportunity is continental: to use culture as a bridge between women’s histories, industries and ambitions across Africa.

Website: [https://www.tributetowomen.co.za](https://www.tributetowomen.co.za)