The 4th of August 09 the Sababas group from Ghana arrived in Denmark and met with their Danish Sababas counterparts to begin a 7 weeks program, doing workshops at primary schools and touring with performances at various venues and festivals. For you who did not experience the Sababas, you really missed out on a great energy proving that collaboration beyond boarders, religion, culture, gender, political principles etc., is possible! An amazing cooperation unfolded on stage where the artists, both visual artists and musicians, all contributed with their skills and talents to make a set combining video art, reggae, R&B, dub, hip hop, traditional music and soul. See the program here
Now the Ghanaian Sababas counterparts have returned home and we will miss their good energy and contribution to set life, art and music in a different framework, calling for people to question themselves about how come the elimination of diversity is forwarded not only in Denmark, but by many governments through out the world. The Sababas shed light to the fact that emphasizing diversity, working across different competences and backgrounds can be thriving and prosperous.
With the artists’ common agenda of using their talents to have a voice, with which they question or illuminate society and its citizens about matters that strike them to be unreasonable, there without doubt have been send messages out to people to consider who they are, where they stand, and what they support. This correlate with the purpose of the workshops formulated by HeartRebels, which were held with youngsters between 15 and 16 years old at three different schools in Denmark, and with a Youth Home in Tamale, Ghana.
During the workshops in Denmark the youth was asked to consider and define ‘identity’, ‘society’, ‘responsibility’, and ‘globalisation’. Who are they as an individual within their society, what responsibilities do they have, and how are they going to become the new agents of change? How can they express themselves and have a voice? As the Sababas artists represented there are many ways of having a voice and take part of debating one’s own society, as well as the global society.
The Sababas set an example, which we hope can initiate more projects of same aim – working together regardless of who you are and where you come from. The ‘others’ are not that different from oneself, so why have prejudgments or be rigid in mind – we might have something to learn from each other.
Read more about Sababas and the Youth Home in Tamale and our workshops under projects and Art to Action or press here