We made it! I took us 18 months, but this month we hosted our first of 9 monthly workshops as part of the project Shared Space - Sharing Space, Creativity and Ideas - a mixed art-form project that focuses on exploring and showcasing creativity with individuals affected by the UK immigration system.
Over two years ago I met Catrin from A Moment's Peace Theatre Company for the first time together with Visual Artist Elena Harris as Project Coordinator for the Tramway/Scottish Refugee Council project 'Share My Table', a year-long multi-arts project which worked with over 40 individuals ranging from 18-60, from over 14 different countries, whose lives are affected by the asylum process.
The end of this project came too soon and it really felt like we as a group of 40 plus people had so much work still to do. It had always been our hope with the end of Share My Table for a shared creative space to come together once again for further creative play and experimentation, to see what could happen next...
Shared Space invited in Gnawa musician Omar Affif to facilitate our May workshop this week. Gnawa music is a traditional type of music from Morocco. Omar plays a beautiful instrument called the Guembri which looks a bit like a three-stringed bass.
The Guembri together with Moroccan castanets, drums, ritual type poetry and singing creates a really incredible loud festive communal sound. A sound that we are hoping to recreate on 30th June in Tramway with our first public scratch event which is an opportunity for participants and audiences, including professionals and amateurs, to showcase their work and ideas.
We hope to see you there!
For further details look here: https://www.tramway.org/events/pages/event-details.aspx?event=1/shared-space
Deborah May