We’ve been busy behind the scenes working on Kilele 27. This will be our fourth edition, and we remain as excited as ever about bringing a programme and event that will inspire and challenge. As with each year, we want you, the community to not just take part, but help shape everything about the Summit. a minimum of 50% of Kilele’s programming comes from proposals from artists, cultural workers, academics or just music lovers with great ideas. Everyone is welcome.

Submit your proposal now at https://cms.kilelesummit.org/apply/open-call-2027 before the deadline 23rd of August (23:45 EAT)

How it works

Click on link above and fill out the proposal submission form. You can submit ideas for showcases (musical performances), panels or presentations, workshops, or art installations.

Read the guidelines here

To stand the best chance of getting your proposal selected, its important to think if your project fits in with Kilele’s theme, and broader goals. (read below). Check out the aftermovies from previous years if you are new to Kilele, and want to get a sense of the vibe.

Proposals will be reviewed by a Programming Committee, made up of Nyokabi Kariũki, Monrhea, Tela Wangeci, Bernt Isak and David Tinning.

Please answer the questions and fields as fully as you can.

Please avoid using AI to generate answers or full proposals - we want to hear in your own words what you would like to do

Our Theme for 2027: Common Grounds

It would be easy to become despondent in 2027. The challenges faced across the planet are stark: extreme and rising inequality, climate catastrophe, corporate greed, dehumanising politics, technological manipulation - and the list goes on. But rather than succumbing to despair, art and artistic expression continues to bring us together, resist oppression and signal brighter alternatives. Common Grounds takes its cue from the Commons - social land practices, and asks what it takes for artists and audiences to collectively own culture, build systems that can generate brighter futures, and forge understanding and solidarity rather than competition and division. Common Grounds is where we meet: on the dancefloor, in conversation, in collective action, and in the shared belief that another future is possible. Through adventurous music, critical dialogue, and creative exchange, Kilele 2027 invites us to discover what we hold in common—and what we can build together.