The following list (in alphabetic order) shows all our partners who have at some point, since 2005, offered us their venue, done promotion for our events and our charity, included us in their programming, or provided support with their personnel and resources.
Action on Armed Violence (formerly Landmine Action) UK-based charitable organisation working to reduce the incidence of armed violence and its impact on vulnerable populations around the world. It collaborated with Sandblast to produce portraits of landmine victims by Simon Thorpe and offered financial support for the 2007 Sandblast Festival and joined events.
Africa Centre promotes Africa’s cultural diversity seldom seen outside of the continent and brings to the fore front, issues affecting not just Africans in Africa, but also in the Diaspora wherever they may be found.
Algerian Cultural Festival was celebrated in 2012 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Algeria’s independence. As the first ever UK-based community-led Algerian cultural festival, it featured workshops, art exhibitions, talks & discussions, film screenings, culinary tastings, dance performances, and a diverse line-up of live music.
ARTifariti is an international yearly art event in the Saharawi refugee camps of South-West Algeria aiming to promote humen rights, the rights of the people to their culture, land and freedom.
Border Crossings creates a theatrical and cultural space in which peoples come together as equals for creativity and dialogue in response to the globalised world.
Brunel University is a world-class university based in Uxbridge, West London. Over 40 years old, it has combine academic rigour with the practical, entrepreneurial and imaginative approach. It has collaborated in small fundraising and awareness educations events in Western Sahara at UCL.
Canning House is a centre dedicated to engage Britain and the Hispanic and Luso-Brazilian world through debates, events and education activities. It helped with poetry and music events linking Western Sahara with Latin America in 2007.
Caravanserai Acting Studios. Led by Giles Foreman (trustee of Sandblast), these studios have greatly collaborated with Sandblast in the The Other Side of the Wall, a British-Saharawi drama collaboration.
Casa Latina / Latin American House is a space and support for Latin Americans, Spanish and Portuguese speakers offering help with legal issues, acquiring life-long skills and sharing ideas. It contributed with a Saharawi Latin American poetry festival in 2005.
Centre for the Study of Colonialism, Empire and International Law. Located at SOAS, aims to provide a forum for inter-disciplinary research on public international law and its relationship to Colonialism and Empire. Sandblast’s partner in the ‘2008 readthlon’ of the ICJ advisory opinion on Western Sahara self-determination, and combinated with films and talks with Ken Loach, Tobby Shelley, Catriona Drew and Jean Lamore at the Brunei Gallery Teaching Centre.
Department of Spanish, Portuguese and Latin American Studies has a dynamic approach to Hispanic and Lusophone Studies and support a wide range of teaching and research interests in Spain, Portugal, Latin America and Spanish and Portuguese-speaking Africa. It has collaborated with Sandblast in several academic Saharawi poetry events in Leeds and London. And co-produced the 1st bilingual anthology Saharawi poetry 31.
FairTunes is a UK-based charity dedicated to using the power of music to enhance people’s lives in developing nations. They set up training programmes and create recording studios and radio facilities. Since 2010, they have been our main partner for the Studio-Live music empowerment project and have: travelled twice to the camps with us to assess technical needs, helped us source cheap equipment and a van to be donated to the local Saharawi cultural authorities and collaborated in the coordination of Sahara Nights, the official launch of the project (London, June 6, 2012).
Festival of Muslim Cultures. Celebrated in 2006 and 2007, a celebration of the rich cultural and artistic expressions of Muslim peoples: advancing understanding, promoting respect and facilitating interconnectedness. It was partner at the 2007 Sandblast Festival.
Film Africa is the UK’s largest annual festival of African cinema and culture, with a whole range of new exciting educational, family, and arts events alongside the main film programme across London.
Freeword Centre is an international centre for literature, literacy and free expression that aims to promote, protect and democratise the power of the word for creative and free expression.
Frontline Club is a media club with a history rooted in the freelance video news industry, which has drawn together a diverse group of people who share a passion for current affairs.
Host Gallery. Established in 2005 by Jon Levy, director of Foto8, and Adrian Evans, director of Panos Pictures; created an arena for photojournalism and documentary photography. It hosted a January 2007 exhibition named Africa’s last colony with Alane Jenue, Kyna Gourley and Simon Thorpe alongside talks and film presentations for 2 weeks.
Humanities Education Centre (HEC). Organisation for teachers and young people to explore global and social issues and increases students’ understanding of the connection between people’s lives around the world. It has collaborated with Sandblast to produce materials to introduce Western Sahara in primary school tradition.
Institute of International Visual Arts (IniVa) creates exhibitions, publications, multimedia, education and research projects engaging with new ideas and reflecting the diversity of contemporary society. It was partner in 2007 Sandblast Festival hosting Saharawi artists for a day portraiture and exploring identity.
Lyrix Organix On a journey through the roots of lyrical music, they have become recognised as one of the most innovative and collaborative event production companies in the UK. Since 2009, this defiantly-grassroots organisation has built a reputation for unearthing and developing the UK’s finest spoken word talent (including Ed Sheeran, Maverick Sabre and Michael Kiwanuka).
MA Music in Development, School of Oriental and African Studies is an innovative, new degree that explores the role of music within a broader framework of Communication for Development, building on the premise that music and other performance activities represent rich discursive sites where local knowledge, social structures and cultural meanings are negotiated, challenged and affirmed. We collaborated with convenor Dr Angela Impey in the coordination of the conference ‘The Art of Struggle: addressing human rights through music’, which kick-started Sahara Live Week (April 20-27, 2013).
Maverick Gallery displays the art of Phil Daniels, an acclaimed international artist with pieces in collections across the globe. It was venue for exhibition on Western Sahara and partner in the 2007 Sandblast Festival .
Mayor of London hosted the launching exhibition for the 2007 Sandblast Festival at the Mayor Offices as part of the Black History Month in 2006.
The Moringa Tree. Working in the UK and overseas, they use Music Festivals and other Cultural events to celebrate different cultures, connect with local communities and generate the income needed to support sustainable legacies
Mosaique Festival. The Institut français’ Mosaïques Festival of World Culture began in 1999 with a special season of films, concerts, exhibitions, and talks focusing on North Africa. It screened the Danielle Smith award-winning film on Western Sahara Beat of Distant Hearts in 2008.
New Generation / Nueva Generación. Latin America focused organisation to promote awareness of issues affecting inmigrants and refugees, and using the art to express them. Sandblast was partner for New Generation Festival in 2007 screening a SaharaMarathon film, photography and performance by Aziza Brahim.
Olive Branch Arts offers a broad range of innovative arts-based experiences and training programmes aiming to empower participants to find their voice and promote social change. Our collaboration with them began in 2010 with a two-week long youth theatre workshop in the camps financed by the SAF and led by Becky Hall and her group, who have been returning to the Saharawi refugee camps ever since for further training workshops with the youth, the disabled and the victims of land mines.
Oxford House. Located in Bethnal Green, a great place for conferences, arts events, meetings, rehearsal, training days, gallery visits or lunch at the cafe.
Palestine Film Festival is organised by the Palestine Film Foundation (PFF), it seeks to develop an audience for and to encourage the development of a Palestinian cinema and cinema related to Palestine. In 2012 they showed the documentary El Problema at the Barbican.
Passing Clouds/Movimientos fuses a strong and active local network with a global awareness seeking to create a constantly developing dialogue between the arts and the prevalent themes of our times. Movimientos is a Latin American events organisation; a live music events programmer, promoter, artist agency and record label.
Picture People is a UK-based Charitable Trust helping bring to light voices and visions of people who have suffered disaster or live in extraordinary circumstances through participatory photography projects.
Photovoice builds skills within disadvantaged communities using innovative photography and digital storytelling methods to achieve social change. It featured Sandblast on their website shortly before the Sandblast Festival 2007.
Poetry Translation Centre was created by the poet Sarah Maguire in 2004, translates contemporary poetry from Africa, Asia and Latin America. On 4th May 2006, it joined Sandblast to host poets from the Western Sahara.
Praxis is Located in East London, provides a wealth of advice and support services to migrants and refugees, as well as a welcoming meeting place for displaced communities.
Refugee Arts Initiative was launched in 1999 by the London Arts Council to support and develop the artistic and cultural activity to be found within all of the capital’s refugee communities.
Refugee Radio was founded in 1981 as an outreach to youth and young adults and is committed to providing media outlets through social networking. Their projects use radio, music and community events to give a voice to those who do not have one. They were one of our main media partners for the Sahara Nights launch of Studio-Live (June 6, 2012)
Refugee Research Centre is Located at UEL, brings together the interdisciplinary work in the related areas of migration and refugee studies; diasporas and social cohesion; racism, nationalism and political religions; as well as citizenship, identity and belonging.
Refugee Studies Centre was founded in 1982 at Oxford University and aims to build knowledge of the causes and effects of forced migration to help improve the lives of some of the world’s most vulnerable people.
Refugee Week is a UK-wide programme of arts, cultural and educational events and activities celebrating the contribution of refugees to the UK and promoting better understanding of why people seek sanctuary. It included Sandblast in their programme in 2009, promoting Saharawi singer and percussionist Aziza Brahim.
Rich Mix Foundation is a charity and social enterprise that offers live music, film, dance, theatre, spoken word and a range of creative activities for people of all ages and all cultures. Accomodated the multi-media Sandblast Festival in November 2007.
Roehampton University. The only campus university in London with first-rate academic, sporting and leisure facilities, ranked as the best in the UK for our research in Dance and Biological Anthropology.
Roundhouse is a legendary venue located at the heart of Candem and home to a bold and exciting programme of live music, theatre, dance, circus, installations and new media. The Roundhouse’s Studio Theatre hosted Sahara Nights (June 6, 2012), a multi-arts event that launched Studio-Live in London with the collaboration of Saharawi singer percussionist Aziza Brahim and 20+ London-based international artists.
Royal African Society. Britain’s prime Africa organisation, located at SOAS, it fosters a better understanding of Africa to make a positive difference to Africa’s development.
SOAS Radio is an online station and social media enterprise based at the School of Oriental and African Studies (University of London). It works with students and academics to produce radio programmes, sharing the knowledge of SOAS with a world-wide audience and helping students engage directly with the parts of the world they are studying. They have supported music project Studio-Live since 2011, becoming the perfect platform to promote Saharawi music and Sandblast’s events in London. We are exploring possibilities about collaborating to set up creative media hubs in the camps in the future.
SOAS Students’ Union. Formed with a view to promoting social intercourse amongst students and staff in SOAS, it’s an independent charity providing social, cultural, sporting and recreational activities and forums for discussions and debate.
St Ethelburga’s Centre for Peace and Reconciliation aims to build and renew relationships across divisions of conflict, culture and religion, helping address cultural and social disagreements positively. They organise music events, conferences and workshops that offer people the possibility to engage with diverse traditions from around the world. Sandblast has been collaborating with them in different events since 2007. Our last joint project has been the absolutely beautiful (and sold-out!) concert of Aziza Brahim + screening of film documentary Al-Khadra: Poet of the Desert, about Aziza’s poetess grandmother (April 26, 2013, as part of Sahara Live Week).
Trade Union Congress is the voice of Britain at work, campaigns for a fair deal at work and for social justice, negotiating in Europe, and building links with political parties, business, local communities and wider society.
Saharawi Journalist and Writers Union (UPES). Grouping a number of intellectuals, journalists and human rights activists in Western Sahara and the refugee camps, it works for the defence of the Saharawi people’s right to self-determination and independence.
V&A. Founded in 1852, it’s the world’s largest museum of decorative arts and design, and its collection spans 5,000 years of art, from the cultures of Europe, North America, Asia and Africa.
War on Want is an NGO fighting poverty in developing countries in partnership with people affected by globalisation, and campaigning for human rights and against the root causes of global poverty, inequality and injustice.
Western Sahara Campaign works in solidarity with the Saharawi people to generate political support in order to advance their right to self-determination and to promote their human rights.
World Heart Beat Music Academy is a specialist world music academy for young people, which not only brings and teaches music from all over the world but also provides disadvantaged youth with instruments and tuition. Founder Sahana Gero, also a musician and band leader, has a deep commitment to spreading the benefits of music learning and playing across London and beyond. WHBMA were our main partner for the coordination of Sahara Live Week (April 20-27, 2013), a series of educational activities and concerts around Saharawi music and human rights with Saharawi singer percussionist Aziza Brahim, especially for the organisation of two music workshops and the end-of-the-week concert at their premises.