Belfast hosts WOMAD event for Fête de la Musique (World Music Day)

Through significant funding from Belfast City Council’s Creative Legacies programme, supported by the European Regional Development Fund under the PEACE III Programme, the first phase of a four year WOMAD outreach programme encompassing festivals and showcase events has started with schools in Belfast.

Part of the programme will feature the first WOMAD showcase event on 21st June for Fête De La Musique (World Music Day) at T13 Shared Space Titanic Quarter.

The World’s Biggest International Music Festival, WOMAD (World Of Music, Arts & Dance) was founded by rock icon Peter Gabriel in 1982, when he thought of a concert involving artists from Africa. The idea later bloomed into a vision of a much larger event incorporating music from all over the world. Since then WOMAD concerts have taken place in 21 different countries presenting some 2,000 international artists playing to a live audience of over 1 million.

On behalf of WOMAD, Northern Ireland based peacebuilding world arts organisation, Beyond Skin, are delivering an outreach programme to use world music, arts and dance to bridge cultural relations, promote cultural learning and create a legacy of a peaceful, confident and shared society.

Chris Smith, the director of WOMAD said:

WOMAD have found an excellent partner in Beyond Skin to work with us in delivering our shared goals of using the Arts to challenge children and young people’s prejudices and unlocking the creative spark within. Understanding the world as a single global community has never been more important than it is now, wherever you are. WOMAD looks forward to this being the start of a long term partnership in Belfast leading to a festival event in the near future.

 The Creative Legacies (WOMAD) project, which is the first phase of the Outreach Programme, sees workshops hosted throughout Belfast in 2013 based around world culture through music, arts and dance

It is envisaged that the outreach programme, which will involve hundreds of local people, will lead to a WOMAD festivals in 2014, 2015 and 2016. The entire outreach programme will be rolled out across Northern Ireland with regional workshop activities feeding into showcase events and festivals in Belfast.

Leading up the Creative Legacies WOMAD schools outreach showcase 21st June, the WOMAD team will be in Belfast including world class Jamaican dancer, Ripton Lindsay who will be facilitating dance workshops in selected Belfast schools, which along with many other world arts workshops will be performed and presented by the school children at the T13 WOMAD event which will run from 10am – 3pm.  Schools are also welcome to turn up on the day to take part in activities by registering [email protected]   The event will also be open to the public.

As an added bonus for World Music Day, the WOMAD outreach programme extends to Lisburn in the evening for a very special performance by local gypsy folk band, Balkan Alien Sound at the Island Arts Centre. Tickets available from www.islandartscentre.com  Balkan Alien Sound performed at WOMAD’s flagship event in Charlton Park in 2012 were they wooed 1,000’s of people leading the way just before Led Zeppelin frontman, Robert Planet entered on stage.

Darren Ferguson of Beyond Skin said:

WOMAD is a brand recognised the world over for its contribution not only to world music but also to promoting education, community development and cultural understanding and we are extremely proud to be bring their work and ethos to Northern Ireland.

We are delighted to be working with the WOMAD team and local partners, Pobal, Walkway Community Association, Releasing Rhythm, Northern Ireland Childrens Commission and T13 to deliver the first phase of the outreach programme with in kind support from Sinful Design, Premier Inn and Dawsons Music,

We have no doubt the Programme and the festival legacy will provide many positive opportunities for the people of Belfast and beyond, highlighting the true Northern Ireland as a creative, diverse, vibrant culture.

Cormac O Briain, Pobal’s Irish Arts Coordinator said:

POBAL are delighted that Beyond Skin through Belfast City Council’s Creative Legacies programme will be hosting an Outreach Programme in the lead up to WOMAD event in 2014. It gives us great pride as a community partner to be part of this exciting venture and we look forward to the positive benefits it will bring to Belfast.

The Creative Legacies WOMAD Belfast Schools Showcase event takes place on the 21st June 2013 10am – 3pm at T13 Shared Space, Queens Road, and Titanic Quarter. Schools attend free but must register. Public can attend with a requested £1 entrance donation.

More information visit www.womadbelfast.org   [email protected]