Sandblast is a UK human rights charity promoting the voices and visions of the indigenous Saharawi from Western Sahara through the arts. The protracted conflict, in Africa’s last colony, has turned the majority of the Saharawi population into refugees and threatens the survival of their cultural identity.
We believe in the right of individuals and communities to enjoy culture, celebrate the arts and promote their own traditions. Bolstering the cultural heritage of the Saharawi and raising awareness of their overlooked plight are important to our mission.
Since 2005, Sandblast has created platforms in the UK to promote Saharawi arts and culture and undertaken projects in the refugee camps to strengthen artistic expression. Music has always played a central role for the Saharawis in their struggle for recognition of their fundamental human rights to self-determination. Our current project, Studio-Live, aims to equip the refugees with the skills and material resources to build their own music industry in the camps.
Please listen to the excellent BBC radio 4 programme ’Studio In the Sand‘, by Robin Denselow, featuring the voices of a wide range of Saharawi refugees and highlighting the role of music in their struggle.
If you are inspired we would love any support you can give. We welcome your time, skills and ideas… and of course we never turn down a donation!
“Studio-Live is a great idea. The music of the Saharawi people will inspire many to take up their cause.” (Ken Loach, filmmaker and Sandblast Patron)
