Nov 2-4, 2007 (Rich Mix, London) - Sandblast Festival
London’s first-ever festival celebrating Saharawi arts and culture took place in
November 2007 after 3 long years of hard fundraising and preparations.
Over 18 Saharawi artists from refugee camps in SW Algeria were invited to the UK by Sandblast to participate in the three-day Festival at Rich Mix in London’s East End. TIRIS, the sensational eight-member Saharawi music and dance band, brought the house down. The festival represented only one leg of their six -city tour in the UK. The muti-media event also included Saharawi poets, painters, photographers and puppeteers, interacting with audiences and collaborating creatively with London-based artists. The release of TIRIS’s debut album Sandtracks at the festival was met with a rave five-star review in leading world music magazine Songlines.
I felt my eyes were opened not only to a great injustice, but also to the art and culture of a people who have been sidelined for far too long. Henry Bonsu, Director of Colourful Radio
Among the special guests of the opening night were British iconic filmmaker Ken Loach, Aminatou Haidar, Saharawi Nobel peace-prize nominee, and Hasiba Boulmerka, Algerian Olympic gold medallist. The festival was also join ed by the fabulous voices of Somalian singer Maryam Mursal, herself a political refugee and Pedro Lima and Teresa Pineschi from Brazil.
Over the weekend, intimate jams included an improvised string quintet made up of oud, cuatro and tidinit with the more familiar violin and flamenco guitar. Alongside that, pulsating dance madness between amateurs and professionals of diverse traditions. Feature films, shorts, works in progress offered diverse insights into the Saharawi situation as well as talks on human rights, landmines and women. There were also creative workshops for adults and kids. Debut performances of The Wall, a British-Saharawi theatre collaboration, were also among the highlights. Through the remarkable life of El-Keihal, a Saharawi poet, The Wall tells the story of a divided and displaced nation in struggle.
Over the weekend, intimate jams included an improvised string quintet made up of oud, cuatro and tidinit with the more familiar violin and flamenco guitar. Alongside that, pulsating dance madness between amateurs and professionals of diverse traditions. Feature films, shorts, works in progress offered diverse insights into the Saharawi situation as well as talks on human rights, landmines and women. There were also creative workshops for adults and kids. Debut performances of The Wall, a British-Saharawi theatre collaboration, were also among the highlights. Through the remarkable life of El-Keihal, a Saharawi poet, The Wall tells the story of a divided and displaced nation in struggle.
I am sure the Sandblast Festival will have given many people an appetite for the Western Sahara.
Toby Shelley, Financial Times journalist and author of Endgame in Western Sahara: Africa’s last colony.
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Over the three days, the Festival attracted over 2,500 people. Through related events in London and the UK Tiris tour, Sandblast reached an additional 2,000 people.
Hundreds of people learnt of the Saharawis for the first time and many considered the Sandblast festival the best awareness-raising party they have ever attended. Through the extensive media coverage of TIRIS and their UK tour, many thousands more were reached. |
Filmmaker Ken Loach with Festival Director Danielle Smith
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To take part in Sandblast is to share in the making of history. Jean Lamore, filmmaker and author.
The Sandblast festival would never have been possible without the dedication of a fantastic volunteers team and the efforts, time, funds, ideas, food, love and friendship of many others along the way. To all of those who contributed, Sandblast is eternally grateful for making the experience truly wonderful and unforgettable.