Nikki Froneman is South African but lives in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where she has been based since April 2007. She is a theatre and performing arts producer as well as an occasional director and currently runs Proyecto 34°S, an independent organization that produces festivals and events with a focus on contemporary performing arts active artistic exchange and contact between the diverse peoples and cultures of Africa and Latin America. She also loves to cook and runs a once-a-week “restaurant” in her home where she serves up African-inspired food.

Why are you a global nomad?
I have lived in four countries on three continents and traveled to about 15 more. I love traveling and really getting to know a culture - living in a place, smelling it, tasting it. I am passionate about arts, culture and food - all very authentic expressions of a people. Both Proyecto 34°S and Afro-Kitschen (spelling intentional!) are natural extensions of this - and being able to share what I am passionate about with others who are eager to share and know. South Africa is my home but my heart is split between there and Latin America - and there is still so much to see and discover and share. I think I’ll always travel - I love to have a real homey home but I make that where I am and I live and enjoy the moment as much as I can.

What made you start this venture? Why are you doing this?
I traveled for a year through Latin America, from Guatemala down to Argentina. I was doing some informal research about music and dance that has African roots and so I made contact with a lot of Afro-Latinos and also with arts practitioners in general. I encountered the same thing wherever I went - that people in general (aside from a few of those that I met) had very little knowledge about Africa, less about particular countries within Africa and even less about the arts from Africa - and what they did know was generally very stereotyped and out of date - product of what we receive from the media and a skewed education curriculum that most often does not include Africa and/or Asia and/or Latin America. In Buenos Aires, there is a huge and thriving arts scene, with loads of international bands, theatre companies etc that visit - but almost nothing at all from Africa. It’s pretty much the same in Africa - there is really not much knowledge about Latin America since the two continents don’t have many links - and both being developing continents with many urgent necessities, they generally don’t have the financial resources to initiate and fund such initiatives. I decided to found Proyecto 34°S and use my unique position as an African arts producer living in Latin America to facilitate more exchange - and we are the only organization that specifically focuses on artistic exchange between these two continents. I really believe in the power of exchange to stimulate and inspire many things - new ideas, pride in one’s culture, collaboration, the valuing of diversity, creative relationships and dialogue between artists and audiences, as well as artistic appreciation, social consciousness and cultural understanding.

What do you hope to achieve?
In the project, our aim is to become a sustainable arts organization that through the medium of different projects enables more and more artistic exchange between Africa and Latin America. Our long-term goal is to establish a biennial festival of African theatre in Latin America and counterpart festival of Latin-American theatre in Africa - building on what we have done so far, specifically the Festival of South African Theatre presented in Buenos Aires in 2009.

How long have you been working on this?
I founded the project at the beginning of 2008 so it’s coming up for 3 years now.

What is the most interesting discovery you have made since starting this project?
I have been amazed and so inspired by the number of people who truly believe in the project and who are willing and able to work to make things happen. At the moment, nobody earns a salary of any kind, and we have about 50 volunteers that work on all aspects - from project management to translation to web design. It is fantastic to work with people who share my vision and who add so much more to it.

Where do you see this project in 10 years?
We’re working towards the dream….I would love for us to have our own spaces, both in Africa and in Latin America, from where dedicated staff can coordinate our activities and have on-going events.  Ideally we’d have accommodation for visiting artists, offer residencies, have more collaborative projects involving performing and other artists from both continents.  The festivals would be running in alternate years - one year in Africa, one year in Latin America - and we would have sufficient funding and sponsorship to make the festivals even more accessible to the public, particularly to lower-income groups and those in more rural areas.  The festivals would be running for ten days each, with a diverse program of contemporary theatre, dance, music and accompanying exhibitions and workshops…..  

When did you start traveling?
I started really traveling in 2002 when I went to Mozambique backpacking for a month, then in 2004 to Shanghai for 8 months, and the latest “trip” has been going for four and half years….

How and why did you travel for the first time?
On my own, the first time I traveled was with a school friend to Switzerland when I was 19. We went for a week but the preparations were huge! I specially opened a hotmail email account to be able to communicate with my family! - it was 1999 so email wasn’t yet that common! We nearly died because the exchange rate to the SA Rand was so high but we had a ball - first time in a hostel, first time in a foreign language country, first time hearing German punk-rock-techno whilst drinking red vodka…. 

In what places have you lived and what languages do you speak?
I have lived in Durban and Cape Town, South Africa, in Shanghai, China, in Salvador da Bahia, Brazil and in Buenos Aires, Argentina. I speak English, Afrikaans, Spanish, Portoñol ;-) and bits and pieces of Zulu.

What’s your favorite city so far?
Difficult choice! I’d have to say Cape Town for the food, natural beauty and soul-friends that live there, Buenos Aires for the incredibly vibrant arts scene and the fantastic support that Proyecto 34°S and I have received here and hmmm… Bangkok - for streetside pad-thai, Chang beer and the crazy tuk-tuks alongside the most beautiful temples!

If you could only take one item with you to travel the world (other than your passport), what would it be?
An open heart and a good memory…

Give us your global nomad profile:
window or aisle? Definitely window!
boat or plane? Boat
train or bus? Train
walk or bike? Walk
metro or trolley? Trolley
tropical, temperate, polar? Tropical or polar
hotel, hostel or local’s apartment? I like all three at different times.
must have fashion piece when traveling? a pretty scarf - it can do many things!
explore/map or tour guide? explore