THE Raiwaqa-Raiwai Art Club has launched its efforts to bring to life the talent that has been dormant for the past few years through a concert that was held at Edward Hattauer Court in Suva yesterday.
Sponsored by a global movement — Playing for Change — the concert brought out musicians and artists who showcased their talent to their families, friends and the community.
Raiwaqa-Raiwai Art Club spokesman Conrad Parker said the event provided a platform for children from the community to display their artistic talent.
Parker said they wanted everyone to be involved — parents, church elders and the community — as a means to connect everyone.
“There is a lot of dormant talent here and we just want to revive some of them and also bring out new talents. Our focus is music and art, but we also plan to bring in dancing too,” he said.
According to Parker, some of the artists who played yesterday included Sam Waqa, Tom Mawi, Nezbitt Hazelman, Margaret Qalo and band One2Eight.
Club chairman Vincent Burese said the club was dedicated to uplifting young musical minds in the neighbourhood and bringing back the identity that was taken away.
Playing for Change Fiji ambassador Naleen Nageshwar said the event also provided them with an opportunity to show the “good” side of Raiwaqa.
“There are a lot of good people here with good hearts and great talents which are often overlooked. There is a stigma among people that Raiwaqa is not one of the best places to be and we are also trying to change this image,” he said.
Mr Nageshwar, who is the general manager business transformation, marketing and customer engagement for FMF Foods Ltd, said they had sponsored the event with other firms such as Dragon Music, Yamaha Make Wave, Stage Tech and Blue Gas to name a few.
Playing For Change is a movement created to inspire and connect the world through music.
The idea for the project came from a common belief that music has the power to break down boundaries and overcome distances between people.
Mr Nageshwar said the organisation was just starting off with Raiwaqa and had plans to organise similar music events around the country.
