Saharawi arts and culture at the V&A

Last Saturday 23rd June Sandblast, with the support of the V&A Museum and in an event linked to Refugee Week, put together 'Out of the Sand - We are Saharawi', a sensational Saharawi arts and culture day at the Sackler's Centre of the museum. The event run from midday until approximately 4.30pm, and involved music, film, talk and a jewellery making workshop.

MUSIC: EL ANDALUZ

El Andaluz at the V&A Sackler's Centre

Fantastic Algerian music group El Andaluz Band, made up of Yazid Fentazi (oud), Karim Dellali (darboucka) and special guest Redha Boudbagh (voice and Algerian and oud), kicked off the afternoon with some incredible music. Having collaborated with Saharawi musicians in several occasions in the past (they performed in the jam session at Sahara Nights and Karim has travelled to the Saharawi refugee camps), these musicians offered the audience the perfect musical set up for the day. We were all soon tapping our feet and clapping to the intricate melodies and uplifting rhythms of the classic Arabic and Andalusian music they were performing.

FILM: BEAT OF DISTANT HEARTS

Umm Deleila, Saharawi singer
featured in Beat of Distant Hearts

Danielle Smith, filmmaker, photographer, anthropologist and Sandblast Founding Director, travelled to the Saharawi refugee camps for the first time in 1991. From the very beginning her imagination was captured by the inspiring Saharawi culture and the powerful role the arts, especially the music and poetry, but also the newly developed painting style, had played during the revolution and the 16 years of war (1975-1991). She decided to film a documentary showcasing this part of the story and Beats of Distant Hearts, the Art of the Revolution in Western Sahara was born. Although filmed in 1996, it was not released until 2000. Twelve years later, the film is still relevant today as it shows how the Saharawi arts and culture continue to be the best way of reaching international audiences and raise awareness about the Saharawi situation. After the screening, there was a Q&A with the filmmaker.

JEWELLERY MAKING WORKSHOP
In 2007, French Florie Salnot, a design student from the London Metropolitan Art Media & Design was challenged by her professor to develop a design project that could benefit both a community and the environment. Inspired by a talk by Danielle Smith, she developed a unique craft technique using hot sand and plastic bottles, both available in the refugee camps, and taught it to twenty-one Saharawi women to re-discover an ancient tradition of creative expression of their cultural identity.

Danielle shows us the thin strip of plastic
she's cutting off a bottle. At the back,
Florie supervises another workshop attendant

The technique is the following: the plastic bottle is first painted and then cut into thin strips. After that, any type of pattern can be made by positioning nails into the holes of a nail board: the plastic strip is placed around the nails and the whole board is submerged into hot sand. The plastic strip reacts to the heat by shrinking to fit the nail drawing, and keeps its shape when removed. The piece of jewellery then requires a few last steps and fittings to become finished.

On Saturday, Florie gave a workshop at the V&A for the attendants of 'Out of the Sand'. In a couple of hours each of us created a small ring out of thin strips of golden plastic using small copper sticks to shape the pieces of jewellery; it was fascinating to see how an everyday plastic bottle can become something so pretty and decorative!

Inspiration

Making the decision to Run the Sahara may be one of the best decisions of your life. Since 2009, Sandblast has facilitated the UK's delegation to the Run the Sahara in Algeria. It is quite unlike any other physical challenge. The Saharan desert provides the backdrop to a run (5k, 10k, half marathon or full marathon) and a week of cultural activities designed to bring you into the experience of the Saharawi refugees, compounded further by the experience of living in the refugee camp itself. Sandblast organises everything from the food you eat with your host family to meeting local figures in the community. Read below for a collection of testimonials from past runners: 

It was a privilege to have been involved, to have met like-minded people, to have experienced the hospitality of the Saharawis, to see the beauty of the dunes but also the desolation of the Hamada.

Peter Hamilton, UK participant 2009

This was a life changing experience for me and it will stay with me for a very long time.

Victoria Bavister, UK participant 2009

The views were spectacular especially on the run and in the dunes. The hospitality of the Saharawi was truly touching. It’s an event that anyone who likes a strong physical challenge. Whomever cares about the Saharawi people absolutely must attend.

UK participant 2009

Wonderful people, place and community. A week felt like a lifetime, packed with adventure and unforgettable experiences.

Fleur Hutchinson, UK participant 2010

Memorable, interesting and fun. Stimulating to have a break that makes you pause to think about important international goings-on that you don’t necessarily think about or encounter in everyday life, as well as the physical challenge of the run.

Julia Lutte, UK participant (and 3rd in Women’s Marathon!) 2010

It will change your life, your perspective, your priorities, and it might just help to change the lives of a people fighting for their fundamental rights to existence. Say no more!

Nina Murray, UK participant 2010

Was it what I expected? Would I go back? Would I recommend it? More. Yes. Unreservedly!

Mar Garvey, 2011 participant 

Now to bring you even closer to the runners' experiences:

To join up or learn more:

www.sandblast-arts.org

runthesahara@sandblast-arts.org

http://www.facebook.com/sandblastarts

Sandblast's New Voices

On July 10th, Sandblast Team celebrated with the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, the V&A Museum of Childhood and the Praxis Community project the New Voices Festival in Bethnal Green. From I Love Migrants and Amnesty International to community gardening projects and dance clubs - everyone was there.

When we didn't simply enjoy the great array of performances and entertainment on the main stage, we experienced a great interest from visitors and passer-bys in 2011 Running the Sahara, Tiris' album "Sandtracks", and project-in-planning, Studio-Live.

As an extra treat, rap duo Poetic Pilgrimage got our heads bopping and hips swivel. Two women  wearing hijabs mesmerized the audience by performing a number of songs from their very progressive and uplifting hip hop mixtape. Charity director was intrigued and went to purchase their CD only to find out that Poetry Pilgrimage got together with Saharawi singer, Aziza Brahim, for one of the songs on the CD: Regresso.

Learn more about Poetic Pilgrimage by checking out their blog at http://poeticpilgrimagemusic.blogspot.com/.

PRESS RELEASE: Brits prepare for Running the Sahara 2011

For immediate release: June 2009

Brits Prepare for Running the Sahara in 2011 in support of

Saharawi Refugees

Arts and human rights charity Sandblast launches its UK-wide Running the Sahara campaign for 2011 to raise funds and awareness for the plight of the indigenous Saharawi people of Western Sahara.

London, June 14, 2010 – “The sun rains down its unforgiving rays, everything tastes of sand and our feet are as sore as they’ve ever been”, says Weisi Guo, participant in the 2010 race, “but we have all left a piece of our heart in the Sahara dunes.”

 

Guo was one of the 32 people who joined charity director Danielle Smith on this adventure to the refugee camps on last February for the 10th Saharamarathon, the largest ever UK contingent to participate in the event.

As the official UK facilitator, the charity Sandblast’s annual fundraising project Running the Sahara connects the British people to the reality of close to 200,000 Saharawi refugees through the international sporting event known as the Saharamarathon.

Not to be confused with the Marathon des Sables in Morocco, the Saharamarathon takes place every year in the Algerian Sahara in the Saharawi refugee camps near Tindouf. Organized by the refugees themselves and volunteers from around the world, the solidarity sports competition has been growing from year to year. In its 10th edition in 2010, it attracted more than 400 participants from over 22 countries with an almost equal number of Saharawi refugees participating in it, including Saharawi triple gold medallist Salah Amaidan who won the 10km.

In 2010, the UK contingent raised more than £20,000 for Sandblast’s Saharawi Artist Fund, which finances activities in the camps to empower the refugees to tell their own story, promote their own culture and earn an income through the arts.

Sandblast’s founding director, Danielle Smith, explains, “protracted refugee situations like the Saharawi one suffer from oblivion, donor fatigue and trends that threaten their culture and identity. We focus on the arts because it is a medium with the greatest potential of harnessing global attention and recognition for the Saharawi plight and culture in a positive and inspiring way.”

In the next two years, Sandblast will aim to empower the Saharawis to present their culture and earn an income through their music in the form of the Studio-Live project. Danielle affirms, “there is huge talent in the camps. Saharawi music at this juncture most powerfully expresses their identity and struggle in a way that can reach global audiences and connect with musicians from all over the world.”

Information and details on the Running the Sahara campaign and how to sign up are available on the charity website at www.sandblast-arts.org/projects/running-the-sahara or get in touch with the Campaign Coordinator at runningthesahara@sandblast-arts.org.

-- ends --

To find out more please visit the Sandblast website at www.sandblast-arts.org.  

Press contact:

Cathrin Lemoine

Digital Communications Manager

Sandblast

T: 0044 7825916191   E: cathrin@sandblast-arts.org

Notes to Editor:

• On Sandblast: Sandblast is an arts and human rights charity working with the indigenous people from Western Sahara, the Saharawis. Their identity and culture is threatened by the impact of protracted exile and Morocco's integrationist policies.  It is our mission to empower the Saharawis to tell their own story, promote their own culture and earn a living through the arts.
• On Western Sahara: In a barren corner of the Algerian Sahara, close to 200,000 Saharawis have been living as refugees since the 1975 Moroccan invasion of their country, Western Sahara, a former Spanish colony in NW Africa. Despite the extreme hardships of their exile, the Saharawi refugee community has managed to build a vibrant, democratically run nation-in-exile, where women play a prominent role in all sectors of life, defying many Western preconceptions about Arab-Muslim societies. The Saharawis seek their independence in Western Sahara and have been waiting for the UN to implement the long promised referendum for their self-determination, originally scheduled for early 1992.
• On the Saharamarathon: This international sporting event evolved as a way to show solidarity with the Saharawi people and raise money for projects to improve the lives of the refugees. Organized by representatives of the Saharawi government and volunteers from all over the world, the first Saharamarathon was held in 2001. The event is also child-friendly. There is a race for children which takes place in one of the camps and many Saharawi children, 10 years and older, join in. AIMS (Association for International Marathons and Distance Runs) has sponsored this race over the past few years. Many of you will think it insane to run in the Sahara and fear baking to death. Don’t worry February is a mild month and the event is very well organised. Participants will be transported to the start of each race. The courses are marked with flags and stones, the terrain is mostly packed sand and is largely flat. There will be all the usual forms of support like regularly spaced water stations, four-wheel drives to provide assistance and medical assistance is provided by the International Red Crescent. The event has been growing each year and broadening its base of International participation. In 2010, nearly 1000 people ran in the Saharamarathon races from all over the world. For more info check: www.saharamarathon.org
• On Running the Sahara: Sandblast officially promotes the Saharamarathon in the UK with their campaign Running the Sahara. It facilitates participation in the event as well as raises awareness and funds for its arts ands cultural projects in the camps. 2011 Running the Sahara will be Sandblast’s third fundraising campaign in a row.
• On Salah Amaidan: His remarkable career began under the Moroccan occupation in Western Sahara and his life story is currently being made into a documentary by UK production company Tourist with a Typewriter. He dreams of participating in the 2012 London Olympics.

Sandblast at the Arts4HumanRights Festival "DisPLACEment"

Charity director Danielle Smith spoke at the first Arts4HumanRights festival "DisPLACEment" in Southwark last week (May 13). Partnered with social worker Ioannis Athanasiou on the topic of Displaced Peoples and Creative Practices, Danielle spoke about the indigenous people of Western Sahara, the Saharawis, whose identity and culture has been threatened by the twin impact of protracted exile and Morocco's integrationist policies since their invasion in 1975

Addressing the audience at Art's Bar for the first time, Danielle read a Saharawi poem from the bilingual poetry book, 31 treinta y uno, a collaboration project between Sandblast and the editors Pablo San Martin and Ben Bollig at Leeds University (published in 2007).

Danielle's warm and sensual voice carries the poem line for line through the room, reaching not only the ears but the hearts of the audience. She has read them many times, to herself and to others. She knows the poem word for word, but more than that, she knows its meaning, its origin, the poet and his story behind the words. It touches the audience, draws them in and doesn't let them go.

When Danielle goes on to speak about the Saharawis and the major obstacles they face in fighting for their right for self-determination, her voice is not warm any more. Her voice is passionate instead. Unadulterated passion for the cause, for the promotion of the rich Saharawi culture, for making the Saharawi voices heard:

The indigenous people of Western Sahara were forcibly displaced when the Moroccan army invaded their homeland in 1975 claiming its sovereignty. When a 16-year long war enraged between Morocco and the POLISARIO Front, thousands of Saharawis escaped the war-ridden territory to seek refuge in Algeria. They have lived in temporary refugee camps since then. Having been denied their Heimat, the Saharawi refugees embraced creative practices, such as poetry, performance art and music as a way of expressing their culture. As a way of keeping their distinct identity alive, the refugees use the arts to actively defy the uprising bitterness of not being heard by the international community, of not being able to work and earn a living, of seeing a people's hope and aspirations drained by protracted exile.

When the talk comes to a close, the audience felt enlightened and thankful to being able to learn about the Saharawi refugees and Sandblast's work. A raging success in 2010, we are all looking forward to next year's Arts 4 Human Rights festival and hope for many more events to come in the next few months.