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A Cultural and Economic Empowerment project through Music Project Summary: Studio-Live aims to develop the basis for professional music-making in the Saharawi refugee camps. Working in close partnership with the Saharawis (the Ministry of Culture based in the camps) and organisations like Fairtunes (UK), the project intends to provide material resources, expertise and training in technical, artistic and business skills. Over the next few years the refugees will be equipped to record, produce and showcase their talents, their rich musical heritage and spread the message of their struggle through music, at a level not previously achievable. The training opportunities will target women and youth, in particular, who make up more than 70% of the population. At the end of the third year, the project aims to have facilitated the production of a digital CD to reflect the range of Saharawi voices and sounds today and also to have helped pilot the first international music festival in the refugee camps. This will provide a blueprint for organizing future festivals regularly to be run by the Saharawis for the benefit of their community. Click here to read full project  Shueta, the Saharawi Aretha Franklin recording in Algiers
The context: Two generations have grown up entirely in refugee camps with little knowledge of their roots and history. Many aspects of their oral heritage risks being lost altogether as the elders dies out. Saharawis 18 years old and under now account for over 59% of the refugee population and in the absence of a lasting solution to the ongoing conflict, in Western Sahara, this youth have few prospects of experiencing fulfilling, productive and culturally enhancing lives. As one of the longest-standing protracted refugee situations, the Saharawis are victims of oblivion, donor fatigue and trends that threaten their culture and identity. Many aspects of their cultural heritage, traditionally transmitted orally from generation to generation, risk being lost altogether as the elders die out. Why music? Saharawi music is currently the artistic medium with the greatest potential to reach worldwide audiences and get the Saharawis on the cultural map. Rooted in Yemenite and West African influences, the music of this dispossessed nation expresses their cultural identity in a uniquely evocative way while also conveying the message of their struggle to achieve justice and freedom. The first festival of Saharawi arts and culture organized by Sandblast, in 2007, clearly highlighted the ability of Saharawi music to widely engage the hearts and admiration of audiences and musicians from all backgrounds. The eight member Tiris band, based in the refugee camps, made a huge impression on all who heard them. But equally important, the three years of preparations for the festival enabled Sandblast to appreciate the tremendous music talent that exists in the camps and to also gain an awareness of the challenges that must be met for this talent to be developed and expressed. With the right kind of support, Sandblast believes the development of the Saharawi voice through their music will harness the international recognition they deserve and need, within a relatively short amount of time. How will Studio-Live achieve its goals? Over a two to three year period, the project envisions equipping the Saharawis with the capacity to develop, record and showcase their music to a level which has previously been unreachable. Through a process that will be divided into distinct and logical phases, the Saharawis will acquire the skills, knowledge and equipment required for creating the foundations of a music-making industry in the refugee camps. More specifically Studio -Live will provide the resources and training for the Saharawis to:
Implementation scheme The activities of Sandblast Studio-Live will be delivered in three phases. The first phase will kick off with setting up and equipping the professional recording studio and providing sound-engineering training for studio and live. The second phase will deliver a series of workshops in professional development for musicians and set up business/management frameworks for running the studio so that it can function both as a facility for musicians and for community based oral heritage projects. The third phase will focus on the production of the CD and organizing a pilot music festival to showcase Saharawi talent alongside participation by international guest artists. This will provide the testing ground to work towards holding annual or biennial festivals in the camps along the lines of The Festival of the Desert in Mali or the Festival of the Niger. The difference here is that this would be the only music festival in the world to take place in a refugee camp which would be entirely run by the refugees for the refugees. Hard outcomes
Our partners and collaborators Sandblast aims to work with various partners to implement and deliver different aspects of Studio-Live. We are forging a partnership with Fair Tunes UK, a charity made up of professionals from the music and media industry who are dedicated to training and building recording studios and radio stations in deprived areas of the world. They will be playing a role in providing the expertise and support needed for the sound engineering training and setting up the mobile studio in the camps. Partners and collaborators will also be needed to deliver professional development workshops, provide capacity-building in art and cultural management and expertise knowledge in running music events as a social enterprise. For the performance workshops and the CD we will be counting significantly on the support and involvement of musicians from around the world and from those who love music and believe in just causes. We invite all those interested in this project to please be in touch and spread the word. Proposed start date: March 2011. Budget: £85,000 (email info@sandblast-arts.org for more details) We have so far raised over £20,000 which will enable us to deliver the sound-engineering training and equipment required for the first phase.
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