Name: Songs for Sudan: Benefit concert IN-PERSON
Start: 2023-05-24T19:00:00+01:00
End: 2023-05-24T21:00:00+01:00
Location: Sonic Arts Research Centre (SARC)

Songs for Sudan: Benefit concert  IN-PERSON

eduSOIL

Music, poetry, art & drumming | Conversations about Sudan, protest art & Africa's wealth | Responding to conflict through art & civic action

Sonic Arts Research Centre (SARC)

<h3>Event and programme overview</h3><h2>T﻿his is a hybrid benefit concert with <em>in-person</em> and <a href="https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/songs-for-sudan-benefit-concert-virtual-tickets-638075620357" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">virtual</a> tickets for live stream or watch later access. </h2><h3>U﻿PDATE: Doors 6:45, Show starts 7:00. </h3><h3>T﻿he Sonic Lab has a modular grid floor. Attendees should wear flats, block heeled or platform shoes for safety. </h3><p>Join this call to action to connect with the innately peaceful people of Sudan, who have been calling for Freedom, Peace and Justice through <a href="https://theconversation.com/songs-of-freedom-the-soundtracks-of-political-change-in-sudan-115383" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">songs, poetry </a>and <a href="https://www.usip.org/blog/2020/11/how-art-helped-propel-sudans-revolution" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">murals</a> in Khartoum for decades.</p><p>The event is supported by Queen&#x27;s University Belfast, <a href="https://www.qub.ac.uk/schools/ael/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">School of Arts, English and Languages </a>(AEL) <a href="https://www.qub.ac.uk/sarc/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Sonic Arts Research Centre</a>,  to raise awareness about the conflict and current situation in Sudan and to enable support through art and civic action, for people directly affected by the war. </p><p>It has been initiated by <a href="https://www.juanita.uk/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Juanita Rea</a>, Visiting Scholar at AEL and founder of <a href="https://www.edusoil.com" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">eduSOIL</a>. She is a multi-awarded, interdisciplinary artist, activist and community arts leader originally from South Africa and now living in Belfast. Khartoum was her home from 2018 - 2020 and every single person she worked with there has had to flee from their homes including a family recently evacuated from Khartoum to Derry, who will be attending the concert in-person. There are many people she knows directly who need support to evacuate, heal and rebuild their lives. </p><p>With this in mind, she will invite you to fall in love with Sudan through her photo and video footage of protest art, and help you understand what is happening in Sudan with personal testimonies from her displaced Sudanese friends. Representatives of the Sudanese community in Belfast, Ameer Ibrahim who has<a href="https://www.itv.com/news/utv/2023-04-24/fear-for-family-members-as-sudan-conflict-continues" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer"> family directly affected by the war </a>and <a href="https://www.facebook.com/manal.m.hassan" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Manal Mahdi</a> who has has been raising awareness about the crisis, have both given their support to the event.</p><p>The event marks the launch of <a href="https://othmusiccollective.bandcamp.com/track/home-a-song-for-sudan" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">&#x27;Home, a song for Sudan&#x27;</a> that Juanita released on May 8th to raise funds. She will perform this and other original songs with Chip Bailey and Paul Kane from the <a href="https://overthehillbelfast.com" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">OTH Music Collective</a>.</p><p>There will be music from Iranian artists from the <a href="https://www.beyondskin.net/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Beyond Skin </a>community, Shiva Badiei, Omid and Omid who Juanita will join for a performance of <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yC5ccHHpn1Q" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">&#x27;Baraye&#x27;</a> an Iranian protest song which received the <a href="https://www.grammy.com/news/shervin-hajipour-baraye-winner-best-song-for-social-change-watch-2023-grammys-65th-grammy-awards-acceptance-speech" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">&#x27;Best Song For Social Change Award&#x27; </a>at the 2023 Grammys.</p><p>Sudanese protest art will be amplified. Alongside songs by the Sudanese all-female band, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/saluteyal" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Salute Yal Bannot (سالوت يالبنوت)</a>, there will be songs from <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCS-Mj0SsetJm9MQP5vj8DFg" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Ayman Mohamed</a>. He is a talented, rapper/graphic designer who appeared on <a href="https://fb.watch/kvtnhuMJPd/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Sudania TV on April 7</a> yet was forced to flee from Khartoum. This is a song Ayman wrote and recorded two days after the protests began in December 2018 and he now needs funds to get to Ethiopia with his mother and two sisters from where he aims to rebuild his life</p>

<p>Juanita will share artwork by former colleagues and students from <a href="https://www.kics.org/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Khartoum International Community School </a>(KICS): watercolour paintings by  Hussein Mirghani, poetry by teachers Mohammed Osman and Saima Sadar as well as poetry by students Layla Abdalla McDaid and the late <a href="https://news.mit.edu/2022/celebrating-life-mohamed-magdi-taha-1024" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Mohamed Taha</a>. We will be inspired by poetry/spoken word from World Poetry Slam winner and UNHCR Goodwill ambassador <a href="https://emi-mahmoud.com/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Emi Mahmoud</a> and Juanita will perform spoken word pieces, including a piece she worked on with input from Mohammed Osman and members of a Seamus Heaney Centre Poetry Group. Prints of Hussein Mirghani’s watercolour paintings and photos of murals by Alaa Satir, Mutaz Mohammed will be on display and available for sale. There will be art on display by Ayah Aljunaid, a Sudanese QUB Student Union staff member and  poetry from South African poet Nandi Jola, a recent MA Creative Writing graduate of the Seamus Heaney Centre. </p><p>"My body, my sanctuary' is a mental health project initiated by a group of young, female Sudanese students from Ivory Park School during the protests of 2021. Teacher, Marina George, who recently fled from Khartoum to Cairo, was mentored by Juanita to utilise the <a href="https://dfcworld.org/Home/home?cname=Sudan" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Design For Change (DFC) Sudan </a>toolkit to empower these students, to help them stay optimistic during upheaval.</p><p>Attendees will be invited to participate in various songs throughout the programme by singing along and playing on drums. The singing of Sudanese protest chants and freedom songs during Africa Week, will be dedicated to the healing and wellbeing of displaced Sudanese people.</p><p>Alongside the performances there will be personal testimonies and conversations  around the impact of war on people’ lives, civic action as a response to conflict and impact on society at large, the role of social engaged arts in conflict situations and freedom songs as community building.</p><p>P﻿hoto and art credits: Photos - <a href="https://www.juanita.uk/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Juanita Rea</a>, Mural on cover image  <a href="https://www.instagram.com/alaasatir/?hl=en" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Alaa Satir </a>, Watercolour painting- <a href="https://www.facebook.com/HM.ART.SD" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Hussein Mirghani</a>, Mural - <a href="https://womensliteracysudan.blog/2021/07/10/coffee-and-hibiscus-flowers/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Mutaz Mohammed</a> </p><h3>How you can contribute to the programme </h3><p>QUB students and staff are invited to contribute music, poetry or visual art that is either in response to the conflict in Sudan or relating to issues that have led to it. </p><p>Sudanese people in the audience are invited to share protest art and/or lived experiences as well as to lea us in Sudanese protest chants.</p><p><strong><em>Please contact Juanita at j.rea@qub.ac.uk by 8.00pm Saturday 20th May 2023 if you would like to contribute to the programme.</em></strong> </p><h2>How you can support people displaced by the war in Sudan through this event</h2><h2>- Buy an in-person ticket to join us at the Sonic Lab or book a <a href="https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/songs-for-sudan-responding-to-conflict-through-art-civic-action-virtual-tickets-638075620357" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">VIRTUAL</a> ticket if you cannot join in person.</h2><h2>- Listen to and buy the song for £2 on Bandcamp: <a href="https://othmusiccollective.bandcamp.com/track/home-a-song-for-sudan" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">https://othmusiccollective.bandcamp.com/track/home-a-song-for-sudan</a></h2><h2>- Make a donation  on our fundraising campaign page on Givengain. <a href="https://www.givengain.com/cc/help-sudanese-youth-and-families-displaced-by-current-war/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">https://www.givengain.com/cc/help-sudanese-youth-and-families-displaced-by-current-war/</a></h2><h3></h3><h3>What the funds will be used for</h3><p>All proceeds from ticket sales for this event, song sales and donations to our fundraising campaign will be used to:</p><ul><li>Support people who Juanita knows of through the KICS community to get to safety and rebuild their lives by coordinating with Mohammed Osman who is currently in Khartoum</li><li>Evacuate members of the Design For Change Sudan community, particularly Ayman Mohamed.</li><li>Provide mental health activities  together with Marina George for displaced people to aid the trauma release, self-compassion and healing needed when rebuilding their lives.</li></ul><p>F﻿unds will be sent through coordination with Mohammed Osman to assist people still stuck in the war zone that Khartoum has become. It will be used for food, medical supplies and to help people to evacuate to villages and further. </p><p>Both Ayman and Marina have worked with Juanita to directly empower Sudanese youth to lead community projects from 2019 - 2021, to address environmental, social and mental health issues. While currently needing to address personal difficulty, they are both eager to work to offer online and onsite mental health support for displaced youth and families. Juanita will support Marina to provide on-site sessions in Cairo and online sessions via GoogleMeet, Whatsapp Groups alongside Facebook Live broadcasts using the<a href="https://dfcworld.org/Home/innerpage?cname=Sudan&amp;node=1184&amp;node1=1184" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer"> Design For Change Sudan Toolbox</a> that is available in English and Arabic. Ayman will add his graphic design, animation and videography skills to these sessions when he has access to steady internet. Marina and Ayman will be supported by Juanita to empower displaced young people and their families to remember that even though they were forced to flee for their safety, they did not abandon Sudan because they ARE Sudan. The DFC Sudan sessions aims to help them stay healthy and hopeful as they rebuild their lives, while persevering that Sudan will prosper. Inshallah. </p><p><strong>F﻿ollow eduSOIL</strong></p><p>Instagram <a href="https://www.instagram.com/edusoil" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">www.instagram.com/edusoil</a></p><p>Website <a href="https://www.edusoil.com" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">www.edusoil.com </a></p><p>Facebook <a href="https://www.facebook.com/edusoil" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">www.facebook.com/edusoil </a></p><p>Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/edusoil" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">twitter.com/edusoil </a></p>

Songs for Sudan: Benefit concert IN-PERSON

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