Arte Viva Management sets out global intentions

Cape Town-headquartered Arte Viva Management (Arte Viva) is expanding globally with the launch of a new roster of primarily Southern African acts at this month’s International Live Music Conference (ILMC).

Founded in 2016, the booking, management and touring agency also has a European office in Amsterdam, the Netherlands and counts a collective 60 years of experience among its team, including tour production in territories such as Africa, Latin America and Europe.

Prior to Covid-19, the company focused on in-bound tours for international music clients and had already produced some 20 tours around South and Southern Africa for artists including Adrian Iaies (Argentina), Hildegard Lernt Fliegen (Switzerland), Coco Zhao (China) and Bokani Dyer (SA).

It was also commissioned to produce and manage the Carnegie Hall’s National Youth Jazz Orchestra tour to SA in 2020 with Grammy Award winner Dianne Reeves before its postponement due to the pandemic.

“Southern African music is widely appreciated and enjoyed across the world, and we believe there is significant opportunity to increase international touring”

“The world has been deeply impacted by the pandemic, but one thing that has not changed is the desire for and connection to music that moves the heart, the soul – and often, the feet,” says Arte Viva founder and MD Nikki Froneman. “Southern African music is widely appreciated and enjoyed across the world, and we believe there is significant opportunity to increase international touring. We are immensely proud of this new roster, and we are confident the time is right for expansion and introducing these artists to keen audiences in new territories.”

Arte Viva’s hand-picked roster predominantly features artists from Southern Africa, with genres spanning World-Fusion to SA Jazz, Afro- Soul & Folk, including The One Who Sings, Hope Masike, Abavuki, Sibusiso Mash Mashiloane, Mandla Mlangeni, Thandeka Dladla, The Lady Day Big Band, The Unity Band, Mthwakazi and China’s Coco Zhao – the one international performer selected by the Arte Viva team for his “exquisite singing and sensitively articulated fusion of Jazz with traditional Chinese music”.

ILMC 34 will take place in person from 26–29 April 2022 at its longstanding home, the Royal Garden Hotel in London

Arte Viva’s presence at the event is supported by the South African Department of Sports, Arts and Culture, through its Mzansi Golden Economy programme. Arte Viva has used the funding as an investment injection into the launch of the new roster and says it has the requisite experience in coordinating multiple stakeholders and partners to realise sustainable touring that works for all parties and opens the world stage for ongoing prospects.

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