Focusing on both traditional and contemporary aspects of African culture, the Harvard African Students Association (HASA) will present an African Arts Festival of art, fashion and music this weekend.

"The Harvard African Students Association usually deals more with the political issues [of Africa]," said Co-Chair Salem Fisseha '97. "We thought that it would be a good way to start off the year teaching ourselves and the Harvard community about African culture."

The inspiration for this event came from a 1993 intercollegiate African Students Conference, a mostly political forum held at Harvard which also included a successful fashion and culture show, according to Taziona G. Chaponda '97, HASA treasurer.

This weekend's festivities will kick off at 7 p.m. tonight at the Carpenter Center with the showing of two films from the modern African film industry. "Saaraba" and "Quartier Mozart" each presents a view of the experiences of African youth.

All the events will be open to the public and free of charge, except for the final culture and fashion show.

"We tried to make everything free because we want a lot of people to come out and experience the rich tradition of African art and culture," said Chaponda. "This is a unique opportunity for people who are even remotely interested to immerse themselves in African life."

An exhibition of photographs, sculptures, paintings and cloth designs will be in the Robinson Hall Great Space tomorrow from 10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The exhibition will feature student art pieces, the work of visiting artists, including local artist Donald Blanton, and works from the Hamill Gallery of African Art.

The festival will also include a series of workshops tomorrow.

Moni Adams of the Peabody Museum and Tim Hammill of the Hamill Gallery of African Art will lead a workshop on visual arts at 11 a.m. in Sever Hall 113, while the world-renowned South African poet Dennis Brutus will conduct a poetry and literature workshop at 2 p.m., also in Sever 113.

The music and dance workshop will follow at 4 p.m. in Robinson Hall. The El Shabazz D'Jembe Orchestra, a professional dance troupe from New York, will introduce African drumming and teach basic African dance routines.

The final event of the festival will be the fashion and culture show. The show has a $5 admission fee.

The fashion show will display clothing from many regions of Africa. It will be followed by a poetry recital and Harvard students' dance performances.

The El Shabazz D'Jembe Orchestra will close the evening in what Chaponda describes as their "mega-performance."

Although HASA invited other Boston area colleges to participate in festival events, 90 percent of their publicity efforts were aimed at the Harvard community, according to Chaponda