ReSounding Podcast
Listen to the complete collection of our ReSounding series here. Recorded in partnership with art27, we spoke to an array of inspirational people about displacement, and the strength and vulnerability surrounding it.
ReSounding was produced and edited by Ed Holland.
The art27 theme music ‘Come Together’ was written and performed by Matteo Galesi and was produced for art27 in collaboration with SYNCR.
Released: December 22, 2023
As we cap off 2023, we brought back two collaborators and friends of art27 to participate in a special 2-part episode of ReSounding, in acknowledgement of International Day of Human Rights.
Yigit Aksakoglu is a social change advocate whose career spans Human Rights advocacy, early childhood development, NGO policy, and even political prisoner. Having been unjustly imprisoned in his native Turkey for peaceful protest, Yigit now lives in Exile in the Netherlands, where he advocates for better treatment of refugees and undocumented migrants.
Godfrey Lado is a musician and poet living in Amsterdam. Having migrated from South Sudan, and lived through the complicated Dutch asylum seeking process, he now works with the organization ASKV, working towards a more just and fair system and treatment for undocumented people in the Netherlands.
Released: December 21, 2023
In Place of War is a global network. It includes artists, theatre-makers, dancers, DJs, and musicians. It supports artistic projects around the world in numerous contexts, providing alternatives to conflict, helping heal the trauma of war, and building arts equity where it’s needed most.
In this episode, Laura Hassler talks to Ruth Daniel, the CEO of In Place of War. Connecting over their shared passion for activism, arts and climate justice, and a lifelong belief in the power of music, the two discuss how artists can work to create new narratives around conflict, environmental disaster, and wellbeing.
This episode features music from Kate Simko: Colombia Biodiversity from the Cucusonic collaborative album. Used with kind permission from In Place of War.
Released: November 1, 2023
This month we are joined by prolific human rights advocate and self proclaimed Artivist, Omaid Sharifi. Omaid grew up in Kabul, Afghanistan, and has considered himself an activist from the age of 12. Under the injustices of both the US intervention of his country and both Taliban regimes, Omaid has been using art to speak truth to power and point out cruelty and corruption. In 2014, Omaid co-founded ArtLords, a guerilla operation of artists painting murals on the blast walls of Kabul. By involving local people with the painting of these murals, the organization inspired hope and spoke out against corrupt power mongers.
Omaid has since fled Afghanistan and is living in North America, but his work has only grown, as ArtLords has become an international initiative fighting for justice and safety for Afghan, refugee, and other endangered artists.
Released: September 29, 2023
Luciana Abait is a multimedia artist whose artworks can be seen in all manner of place: in galleries, at airports, in shop windows, and projected onto enormous walls. Born in Argentina, living in the USA, movement, migration, displacement, and nationhood are all core themes of Luciana’s works. So too is the topic of climate, and the connections between climate crisis and forced migration.
In this episode, Laura Hassler talks to Luciana Abait, taking a deep-dive into her mixed-media works such as the Iceberg and Displacement series’. They talk migration, maps, and climate protest.
See all of Luciana’s works and upcoming projects: lucianaabait.com
Released: July 24, 2023
Kate McMillan is an artist, academic, and artistic researcher whose work is dedicated to exploring the afterlives of colonialism, the lived experience of migration, and the narratives of women and migrants through complex evocative site-specific installations.
Her latest work, Never At Sea is richly symbolic work developed for St Mary Le Strand Church in the heart of historic central London. The piece explores the interconnection between climate crisis and refugee experience. In the episode Kate tells us all about how she brought together so many strands of artistic enquiry, and shares with us her research on how the arts industry continues to stratify people based on identity, gender, and biography.
Find Kate McMillan at:
www.katemcmillan.net/
@kate_mcmillan_
This episode features music from Never At Sea composed by Cat Hope.
Released: July 6, 2023
In the early 2000’s Lizzi and John Swatland were not yet filmmakers or activists. After a chance encounter with a famous musician, however, the two soon found themselves involved in advocating for better treatment of refugees in Australia. Their involvement continued to grow into what would become Scattered People: a feature length documentary telling the stories of refugees and asylum seekers in Australia, and how musicians were there to meet and support them.
Scattered People is an inspiring documentary showing how music and the arts can be the supporting tool that politics and policy often cannot. In this interview Lizzi and John tell us all about their amazing journey into the world of filmmaking, the support of famous artists along the way, and the wonderful life that the film has taken since its release.
This episode features audio excerpts from the film Scattered People, used with kind permission from Being Reel Films. Watch the trailer here.
Released: May 29, 2023
Is it ok to make a joke of the refugee situation in Europe? Meet the London-based initiative that suggests that sometimes, humor can indeed be the best medicine!
No Direction Home, an event series by Counterpoints Arts is an event series that trains refugees and migrants in London in the art of stand-up comedy, getting them stage ready, and creating opportunities to share their stories with UK audiences.
This month Darren Abrahams spoke with Selam Amare, the producer of No Direction Home and stand-up comedian. Selam told us all about her surprising journey to the stage, as well as how she is celebrating her Ethiopian heritage through art and culture events.
Follow @azmaribet for upcoming Ethiopian music, food, and culture in London.
Discover and celebrate Ethiopian culture through food, art, and poetry with products from Selam L’Ethio (selamleethiopia.com) and Market Fiftyfour (marketfiftyfour.com).
Released: May 2, 2023
When we hear the phrase “artistic censorship,” it’s easy to conjure up a stereotypical image of oppressive control, and to assume that it’s only happening in certain countries or regions. However, the truth is that censorship takes many different forms and is present in countries all over the world.
Fortunately, there are organizations like Safemuse that are working to address the global spread of censorship against artists and the arts. Based in Norway, Safemuse is dedicated to protecting artists who are being persecuted and providing them with a safe space to create and freely express themselves.
In this episode, Laura Hassler speaks to Jan Lothe Eriksen, project manager at Safemuse since its inception, as well as Ghawgha Taban, a Hazaran ‘Afran’ (Afghan-Iranian) singer who fled Afghanistan and is now creating music dedicated to championing women’s freedom in the country.
Ghawgha’s new EP ‘Landless Tree’ is a triptych of songs exploring the experience of migration and displacement. It available to listen and purchase now on Bandcamp.
This episodes features music by Ghawgha Taban and collaborating artists:
- 26:20 – Away From Home by Ghawgha Taban
Inclusion of Away From Home is kindly licensed by Ghawgha Taban and LIDIO by Safemuse, a record label supporting the work of censored artists from around the globe.
Ghawga Taban – vocal,
Anja Lauvdal – keyboard,
Morten Qvenild – keyboard etc.,
Paal Nilssen-Love – percussion,
Producers: Anja Lauvdal, Morten Qvenild, Julian Skar
Technician: Morten Qvenild
Studio: Ugla lyd
Mixing/Mastering: Bård Ingebrigsen
Music: Trad
Lyrics: Trad / Asadullah Ahmadi
Released: March 30, 2023
Vietnamese singer Mai Khôi is a dissident. After gaining enormous fame as a pop “darling of the state” in her home country, Mai Khôi used her platform to speak out against the repressive laws in the one-party Vietnamese society. Speaking out against strict censorship laws for artists and performers, as well as the gendered restrictions against women, turned Mai Khôi from a celebrated patriotic artist, to an outspoken rebel.
Now Mai Khôi lives in exile from Vietnam in Pittsburgh, USA, where she continues to release new music with her band, The Dissidents. In this podcast she tells Laura Hassler all about her incredible life story from pop superstar, to artist in exile, to human rights advocate.
This episodes features music by Mai Khôi and collaborating artists:
- 19:39: Antibodies – Mai Khôi and Hamed Sino
- 27:28: Xin Ông (Please, Sir) – Mai Khôi Chem Gio
- 35:15: Hay Lang Nghe – Tuan Khanh Feat. Mai Khôi
This song is part of a soon-to-be released campaign advocating for the release of Vietnamese environmental activists who are in jail now. Find more information at the 88 Project: https://the88project.org/profile/566/nguy-thi-khanh-/
Inclusion of Xin Ông (Please, Sir) is kindly licensed by Mai Khoi and LIDIO by Safemuse, a record label supporting the work of censored artists from around the globe.
Mai Khoi: singer, guitar, goong
Quyen Thien Dac: saxophones
Nguyen Duc Minh: traditonal flute, percussion
Music and lyrics: Mai Khoi
Lyrics on Airdone: Benito del Sur
English lyrics and English vocals on Cuffed in freedom: Anna Högberg
Producer, mixing and mastering: Nguyễn Nhat Lý / Phù Sa Lab Studio, Hanoi
Released: March 6, 2023
Yigit Aksakoglu is a social change advocate whose career spans Human Rights advocacy, early childhood development, NGO policy, and even political prisoner. Having been unjustly imprisoned in his native Turkey for peaceful protest, Yigit now lives in Exile in the Netherlands, where he advocates for better treatment of refugees and undocumented migrants.
His organisation Mahalle Art & Kultur aims to create a network of support for refugees and migrants by creating routes into stable employment for undocumented artists and creatives.
Sign the petition, Call for Action to Dutch Government: Visa and family reunification for the Turkey earthquake survivors: chng.it/XY2zZ9mc
Open call for proposals in Partnership with Sound & Vision Archives: mahalle.art/events
Released: January 31, 2023
We start 2023 off with a long anticipated guest, the political cartoonist and artist Dwayne Booth, better known as Mr Fish. Fish’s incendiary political artwork and relentless truth-seeking has been a recurring topic around the art27 office, and we couldn’t wait to get him on the podcast.
In this wide-ranging conversation, Musicians Without Borders’ Laura Hassler and Mr Fish dig deep, into the historical forces of artistic activism in the US, the truth-telling capacity of humor, and the crucial enrichment that art provides us in our lives. Mr Fish argues that the engagement with, and enjoyment of art is the vital force that allows us to fully engage with our lives, and challenges us to not relegate art to our “off-work time”.
Mr Fish’s latest book Nobody Left, is available now, as well as his upcoming projects that are available for preorder.
You can find out more about Mr Fish and see all his work at clowncrack.com, and support him directly through his Patreon. Finally, you can catch Mr Fish’s artwork in an ongoing collaboration at the Chris Hedges Report.
Released: January 24, 2023
In 2022, we launched the first art27 open call Commissions of Collaborative Artworks. The Arts for Social Inclusion project awarded successful applicants funding for the creation of new collaborative artworks. The initiative supports the creation of new collaborative artworks by artists with lived experiences of migration, aiming to foreground new narratives on migration and forced displacement.
We are proud to feature these conversations with the successful artists. In these special episodes of ReSounding, we spoke to the artists about the formulation of their collaboration, the narrative and impetus behind their works, and the wider political impact that they perceive in their practice.
In this episode, art27 Coordinator Sofia Vieira speaks to Yoanna Ayers (Poland) and Mariam Shurghaia (Georgia/Ukraine). The artistic duo received funding for their latest project Letters to Ukrainians.
Following a fortuitously encounter at a protest against the war in Ukraine in Battonya, Hungary, the two artists started working together on a song to express their solidarity with the Ukrainian people. Their project, Letters to Ukrainians, was thus born. Letters to Ukrainians is an anthem, a message of hope expressing solidarity with all those suffering from the violent conflict enfolding in Ukraine.
In this episode, art27 Coordinator Sofia Vieira speaks to Elena Yaqubee (Afghanistan) and Fabio Joel Tunno (Italy) about their latest project Charkh Bezan Ba Eftekhar (Whirling Pridefully).
Resorting to music, poetry and theatre, Charkh Bezan Ba Eftekhar carries a message of strength and resistance against injustice and violence in the world. It aims to overcome indifference and bring awareness, amplifying the voices of those being forgotten by a society that has become too complacent. The project blossomed after Elena Yaqubee and Fabio Joel Tunno met in a refugee camp in Lesbos, Greece, in 2021.
In this episode, art27 Coordinator Sofia Vieira speaks to Abubacar Adam Togo (Sudan), Ana Guerrero (Colombia) and Liliya Golovanova (Russia), three artists based in Paris, France.
Adam’s Book is an intimate artistic project that delves into the life and art of Abubacar Adam Togo. It explores not only Adam’s refugee story and the violence in his home country but also experiences and memories from everyday and mundane life – typically not attributed to the collective imagination of people experiencing forced displacement. In the making for the last 3 years, Adam’s Book is a collection of all the mediums Adam works in, featuring poetry, paintings, sketches, and photography. It opposes the common narrative around refugees and migrants, offering a singular and intimate image into Adam’s way of looking at the world.
In this episode, art27 Coordinator Sofia Vieira speaks to Anas Qadamani and Anan Alkadamani, two Syrian artists based in the Netherlands who received funding as part of the initiative art27 Commissions of Collaborative Artworks.
Anas Qadamani is an audiovisual design artist, currently studying at Willem de Kooning Academy, Rotterdam; Anan Alkadamani is a composer and musician, who recently graduated from Codarts, Rotterdam. The two Syrian artists met in the Netherlands, after escaping war in their home country. Delirium, the three-minute-long audiovisual artwork created by the artistic duo, explores and expresses the unprocessed thoughts, experiences and feelings that took place during the journey from Syria to the Netherlands. The duo describes the artwork as an experimental process between music and visuals, with one reacting to the other.
Released: November 11, 2022
This month art27 member Darren Abrahams takes the reigns hosting and speaks to two organizations that use gardening, plants, food, and permaculture to create sustainability and resilience for refugees living in camps in East Africa and Northern Iraq/Kurdistan.
Bemeriki Bisimwa Dusabe is the founder of the Rwamwanja Rural Foundation, working in Uganda to create farming and sustainable food solutions within refugee camps. He is an educator in the field, leading training for young refugees to develop permaculture gardens.
Jennie Spears represents The Lemon Tree Trust, an organization transforming refugee camps in Iraqi Kurdistan by focussing on garden making, cooking, and working with the lands as a practice of security, culture, and community.
Lemon Tree Trust: lemontreetrust.org/
Rwamwanja Rural Foundation: rwamwanjaruralfoundation.org/
This episode features an excerpt of ‘Permaculture Song’ by the Rwamwanja Rural Foundation: https://youtu.be/hLhP2TEFiZI
Released: September 30, 2022
The Human Hive is an international organisation shifting the paradigm of development work. The Human Hive are in the process of training a mass collective of educators, facilitators, front-line workers, and students who are equipped with a better way of working. A way of working with the environment, rather than through it.
In this episode co-founder Darren Abrahams draws on his expertise as a musician and a body trauma therapist to discuss how practitioners can create safe spaces, and work “with” and not “for” participants. Whilst the Human Hive is built on a foundation of the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals, Darren argues that these worthwhile standards do not go far enough, and instead organisations need to aim for “regeneration” rather than settling for “sustainability”.
Find the Human Hive:
thehumanhive.org/
the-human-hive.mn.co/
Listen to the Human Hive:
Spotify
Released: August 31, 2022
In 2014, when ISIS began their attack on the minority Yazidi population of Northern Iraq/Kurdistan, the Noah brothers Jason, Salam, and Ismail, together with the rest of their family were forced to flee their homes and search for safety across the border.
After many deadly attempts to cross into Europe, the Noah family found themselves as Yazidi refugees in Greece, facing dual persecution due to their asylum seeker status and their religious identity.
Now, 8 years the later, the Noah family live in France, where the three brothers paint, create music, and write poetry. Together they founded Brotherly Art, a website where they sell their artworks and use the profits to buy essential survival items for refugees in camps.
Released: July 29, 2022
The crucial freedoms that artists need to carry out their work – freedom to express, to tell the truth, to reach any audience – are not upheld equally around the world. In some situations artists face considerable risk or danger because of the work they do. In such situations, initiatives like Artists at Risk Connection step in, in order to help those individuals and uphold our universal freedoms and human rights of expression.
This month, Laura Hassler spoke to Julie Trebault, the director of Artists at Risk Connection, a program of PEN America dedicated to defending artistic freedom around the world, fighting the effects of censorship, and the persecution and silencing of artists.
Released: June 29, 2022
We are all funny and we all make mistakes. Sometimes we like to forget these aspects of human nature in favor of the serious side of life. But, the ability to embrace our humor and our flaws and laugh at ourselves can be incredibly powerful.
So says Natalie Porias, director of Red Noses International, an international organisation of clowns who have been bringing laughter, joy, and silliness to vulnerable people around the world for almost 20 years. In this episode, Natalie spoke with Laura Hassler about the surprisingly zen beauty of the art of clowning, and how she and her organization have learned to fully embody their politics in everything they do.
Find out more about Red Noses at rednoses.eu/ and donate what you can to the Emergency Smile campaign: emergencysmile.rednoses.eu/donation-now/
Released: May 31, 2022
This month art27 Co-Founder Laura Hassler takes up hosting duty and speaks to Godfrey Lado, a musician and poet living in Amsterdam.
Born in South Sudan, Godfrey fled the country as a refugee when he faced the prospect of mandatory military service. Since arriving in the Netherlands he has negotiated a long and difficult journey to become a fully documented citizen. Now, through storytelling, music, and community building, Godfrey works with other undocumented migrants in Amsterdam to create a better standard of life.
Godfrey works with the organization ASKV Steunpunt Vluchtelingen, find out more about their work on their website.
This podcast features an excerpt of ‘Kabara Ta Intikhabat‘ by Godfrey Lado
Released: April 28, 2022
Laura Nyahuye is a Zimbabwean born artist, storyteller, a curator, writer, performer, and the founder of Maokwo a social enterprise exploring ways in which creativity can bring communities together.
She joined us to talk about how we can tell stories of migration through art, and how this process can help minoritized people form an understanding of their experiences. She also told us how she explores her own story through her stunning body adornment artwork.
Find out more at maokwo.com/
Released: March 30, 2022
In the 1960’s the town of Amude on the Northern border of Syria was a haven of creativity and expression. However a tragic fire in one of the town’s cinemas left a deep scar within the community that has not been healed for over 60 years.
That is until 2021, when Alaa Abdulfatah and her husband Gernas Haj Shekhmous decided to return to their hometown after years of living in Europe, to build the first new cinema in the town since the 60’s, and bring creativity back to Amude. Now they are creating a safe and creative space to start washing away the dust of decades of conflict.
This episode includes clips of Gernas Haj Shekhmous playing the daf in the town of Amude, and a performance by the Kulturvan Band.
You can find out more about Alaa’s amazing intiative at kulturvan.org and if you want to make a contribution to the intiative or donate instruments to their music drive, get in touch with Kulturvan, art27, or Musicians Without Borders
Released: March 30, 2022
Our first episode of a new season of the ReSounding Podcast, and we kick 2022 off with a moving interview with Laura Hassler, the founder and director of Musicians Without Borders, and one of the co-founders of art27.
Laura is an award-winning peace activist who has worked with Musicians Without Borders for over 20 years to help heal the wounds of war through music education, sustainable school programs, and an approach informed by the power of art on the body. In this episode she tells about how she “accidentally” founded the charity, how she finds her hope, and a fascinating story involving the US President Eisenhower and bags of grain.
Released: December 3, 2021
Walk of Shame is an organisation that has one mission: to rehumanize the way Europeans engage with the topics of migration and refugee status. By acknowledging the collective feelings of shame at having not done enough as a global society to help those in need, Walk of Shame hope to create greater communication through empathy and vulnerable understanding.
Rikko Voorberg and Rouddy Kimpioka join us this week to discuss the important difference between helping and understanding, and ask the question ‘when should we intervene, and when is it enough just to be there for someone?’
Released: November 2, 2021
What do we mean when we talk about health and wellbeing? Across countries and cultures these words may take on totally different meanings and connotations. In countries where healthcare is taken for granted, the term “healthy” may be totally different to those in countries where healthcare is less easy to access.
This month’s guest, Injonge Karangwa, is a Rwandan singer, songwriter, and the Chief Organizer of the Hamwe Festival – a festival dedicated to discussing health equity and the role of arts in culture in healthcare around the world. Through her work Injonge seeks to empower health workers using art in order to bring about shared wellbeing across the world.
You can attend this year’s Hamwe Festival in November by going to their website.
Facebook: @hamwefestival
Twitter: @Hamwe_Festival
Instagram: @Hamwe_Festival
YouTube: University of Global Health Equity
Ep.7 – Changing the Narrative with Alana Francis de Govia
Released: October 12, 2021
The Africa Center in New York City has set out on a huge task: to repair the narrative of African heritage and the African diaspora. Through it’s incredibly varied programme of events, talks, exhibitions, outreach programmes and performances, the Center aims to create a healthier and more inclusive portrayal of the lives of African people and their descendants.
In this episode Chris speaks to Alana Francis de Govia, the Chief Program and Experience Officer at the Africa Center. She explains their global vision and delves into the power of narratives in identity.
You can find the Africa Center @TheAfricaCenter on all social media and you can follow Alana directly on Twitter at _alanafrancis_
Released: July 30, 2021
As a registered City of Sanctuary, the city of Bristol UK, has been celebrating it’s diverse cultural society for years. Central to these celebrations is the Bristol Refugee Festival, an annual display of the art, music, food, and beauty of the city’s migrant and arrived populations.
Last month, as part of our Artists as Changemakers conference series, our host Dr Chris Nicholson sat down with Danny Vincent from the festival, to discuss how a festival like this comes together and the crucial work of long-term community engagement.
You can see more of the festival on their website.
This episode features an excerpt of The Fantasy Orchestra performing Zor Qiji Zerd
Released: June 29, 2021
This month, Dr Chris Nicholson talks with Writer, Poet, Activist, and Educator, Zena Edwards, in a special episode recorded for our Artists as Changemakers Conference that took place on June 20th, Refugee Day. Together they unpack the article 27 of the Declaration of Human Rights, stating that everyone has a right to participate in culture.
Zena is a prolific writer, speaker, and performer based in London. Visit zenaedwards.com to explore her projects and view her performances.
Released: May 27, 2021
The IN.DI.E Music Project stands for Interculture, Diversity and Empowerment. They offer support and training in music education, career advice and industry networking for musicians with diverse backgrounds living in Germany. This month, Chris Nicholson spoke to project leaders Matthias Witt and Ayham Nabuti to explore the many ways IN.DI.E Music is creating social and personal change on both the large and small scales.
Matthias and Ayham share touching stories from their experience putting together the project and demonstrate how the negative effects of socially constructed labels can be rejected through music and collaboration.
IN.DI.E Music is funded by the Ministry of Culture and Science of North Rhine-Westphalia and administered by the State Music Academy North Rhine-Westphalia. Find out more here.
The music featured in this episode:
Dialogue 1
Shanmugilangam Devakuruparan – Tabla
Serbest Jajan – Bouzuk
Louis Llorente – Guitar
Mehmed “Vefa” Yamalak – Daf
Dialogue 2
Christoph Schumacher – Body percussion
Yahya Issa – Oud
Juan Jose Lama – Guitar
Ilhan Dikmen – Violin
Released: April 30, 2021
Our host Chris Nicholson is joined by Christopher Bailey, Arts and Health Lead at the World Health Organisation, in a discussion spanning the many ways that arts and health intersect, how artists facilitate different ways of healing, and how these issues relate directly to the lived experiences of displaced people.
During the conversation Christopher shared with us some deeply moving personal stories from his experience of the healing nature of the arts, as well as a new initiative that he and the WHO are supporting, the Healing Arts Initiative.
You can learn more about The Healing Arts Initiative, and view their upcoming events on their website: thefutureisunwritten.org
This episode features an excerpt from Christopher’s keynote speech recorded at the The International Society for Neglected Tropical Diseases Festival 2020.
Released: March 26, 2021
In our first episode of the new ReSounding podcast, our host Chris Nicholson spoke with Eduard Nazarski, the former head of Amnesty International Netherlands. Eduard is now working with the refugee advocacy initiative Alarm Europa, in order to resound the alarm for greater action to be taken for refugees and forced migrants.
Eduard draws on his career in international advocacy and policy lobbying, as well as his experience as a musician, to explore what makes an effective advocacy campaign and where music and performance plays a crucial role in making a statement.
You can support Alarm Europa at their website: https://www.alarmeuropa.nl/
This episode features the following musical performances from participants of Alarm Europa:
Wilco Oomkes – accordion rendition of Song of the Birds
Bart Scheenman and David Mackor – oboe and lute rendition of Song of the Birds