1 The practice
1.1 Description of the project
Project Initiators
The project was initiated by, and since has largely been in the hands of, Karen Pirie, who works for the BBC (see below) and Sheila Mosley, who helps run Farside Music (see below) and is involved with Long Journey Home (a regional network, focussing on artists in exile).
BBC Leicester
9 St Nicholas Place,
Leicester,
Leicestershire.
LE1 5LB
tel: (+44) 0116 251 6688
karen.pirie@bbc.co.uk
leicester@bbc.co.uk
The British Broadcasting Corporation is funded through a system of licence fees, which every person in the UK with a television has to pay. As well as producing commercially orientated programmes and popular entertainment the BBC is also required under its charter to produce a certain level of community initiatives, which may not always be financially “successful”. As well as television and radio programming, this also includes activities such as orchestras, festivals and drama groups. The Instrument library project is such an activity.
Farside Music
(the first Wednesday of every month at 8 pm)
Criterion pub,
Millstone Lane,
Leicester
Sheila Mosley tel: 07751888391
smosl@yahoo.co.uk
Farside Music is a group of musicians who meet regularly and organise monthly performances, at which local musicians are given a chance to perform. The group is run by volunteers “for the love of music” with their events put on for free (only asking the public for donations to cover some of the costs) with the primary aim “fundamentally to provide opportunity for the performance of live acoustic music from around the world”. The Instrument library complements the aims and activities of the group.
Project Description
BBC Leicester in collaboration with Farside Music Group set up a local “library” of instruments from around the world. Located in the basement of a local arts centre, it allows new arrivals into Britain to borrow instruments until they “get themselves on their feet”.
Relying mostly on donations of unplayed or unwanted instruments from the public, the project aims to get these instruments into good use by acting as the catalyst and means by which musicians, who had been forced to flee their own countries, could begin to play music once again.
Local “ex-musicians” were targeted through the local media and at World on Your Street events, though the regular performances of the Farside Music group, the respective websites of both partners and through the various contacts of Karen Pirie and Sheila Mosley. The project has been running since 2002.
Bandurrias
Banjo
Bodhran + Beaters
C Whistle Gold
Cocelele
Djembe x 3
Drum – Egg Timer Shape Yellow
Egyptian Semsemia
Fiddle (violin) x 3
Flute x 2
Guitar effects pedal
Acoustic Guitar x 5
Harmonica
Harmonium listen to Alim
Kambala
Keyboard Casio CTK 50
Keyboard Yamaha PSR 210 + power pack + stand
Keyboard Yamaha PSR 240 + power pack
Keyboard Yamaha PSR 77 Keyboard + power pack
Maracas
Melodica
Recorder x 2
Saz
Shaker
Tambourine x 2
Tempo
Tro - U
Trumpet
Viola
Whistle - G Gold
Wooden Whistle AB/G
x-50 Combo Amplifier
Assorted whistles
1.2 Time, structure and steps of the project
The project started in 2002 when Karen Pirie, who at the time was working for the BBC in Leicester on the World on Your Street project, had to track down world musicians based in Leicester. “It turned out lots of these were asylum seekers and had no musical instruments (...) I came across a group of Somali musicians who had to hire stuff whenever they had to play, as they couldn’t bring their instruments with them.
I thought “this is crazy”, because there must be lots instruments lying around that people don’t use and could be put to good use. I had heard about a project set up for youth music; an instrument amnesty for youth projects and schools.”
An ”instrument amnesty” takes its theme from similar “drug amnesty” or “gun amnesty” schemes, where the public are given the opportunity to rid themselves of the illegal items without fear of prosecution or repercussions. It is a comical play on the name, because although not practising musical instruments not a crime (!), it may bring a small amount of shame or embarrassment to admit that once good intentions to learn an instrument have been neglected. It is hoped that people see the scheme as a good way to make use of the instruments they themselves could not.
Karen believed that they could use the same model and so contacted her friend Sheila Mosley who was involved in the Farside Music club and they then decided to start the project as a joint initiative, “we put appeals out wherever we could, virally, via radio Leicester and got loads of stuff donated.” After asking around various groups and organisations a local arts centre offered them the use of their basement to store the instruments.
1.3 Place and context
Music
Music is recognised by many different groups as a way for people to escape troubles and also as a way to bring communities together. As well as improving community relations multicultural music events involving refugees, can comfort those who were fleeing persecution by allowing them to once again undertake something they love.
On the other hand people often start to learn an instrument, but do not have the time or the determination to continue. People in this situation will often store away their instruments and all but forget about them. These instruments are, however, often in good condition as they sit in cases un-played.
Being a musician under certain regimes can have unfortunate consequences, as Karen Pirie explains she “discovered that people were often ‘booted out’ of countries precisely because they were musicians, often for playing the ‘wrong type’ of music.” Consequently there were many musicians in the region who no longer had their instruments.
Britain is a home for people who were born in many diverse parts of the world and when they arrive in the UK they often bring their music with them. The instrument library was originally included as part of a BBC programme entitled “World On Your Street”, launched in April 2002, which was a celebration and promotion of international music in Britain by Radio 3. Radio 3 attempted to produce a musical map of Britain, showcasing where people would find world music in their local area (on their street).
Leicester
Leicester is in the centre of England and is widely known for its multicultural make-up, with over 40 per cent of its population non-white. In 2010, if current trends continue, it will become Britain’s first Asian majority city. Many Asians immigrated to Leicester in the 1960’s and 1970’s, when large numbers were either heavily encouraged or forced to leave Africa at the behest of newly independent governments. For instance, in Uganda Idi Amin expelled all Asians from the country, with around 6,000 of those expelled eventually settling in Leicester (source icar.org.uk). Since then the ethnic population has continued to grow, with a large number of ethnic Somalis, often EU residents from the Netherlands, choosing to settle in the city.
Some recent reports have suggested that there is opposition to increased migration, including towards those seeking asylum, and not just from white-Britons but also amongst the immigrant community themselves. For example The Hindu Times, one of India’s most widely read daily newspapers, when reporting about the last British General Election in 2005, interviewed, Eijaz Ahmed, a self-employed builder who came from India to Britain in 1979, and when asked about the issues which he perceived as problematic he said that there were “``too many'' people are coming into the country and that, he claims, is ``not good'' for settled communities.” (www.hindu.com). However, many others have held Leicester up as an example of multicultural tolerance as it has not experienced the same degree of ethnic tensions reported in other parts of the country.
1.4 Target
- Asylum seeking and refugee musicians.
- The local community.
- People interested in World Music.
The targets can be summarised by the explanation for the project given by Farside Music on their website “We want to build up a collection of instruments that can be borrowed by asylum-seekers/refugees who are musicians, in the East Midlands. We have contact with artists in exile who are adding to our cultural rainbow by sharing their music with us, at Farside Music on a Sunday evening and when invited to play at other events.”
1.5 Methodology
Publicising the project:
- A call was put out through the local BBC mediums for people to donate their instruments.
- Musician networks through Farside Music and Long Journey Home.
- Utilising the BBC World on Your Street events.
- Performances by the musicians using the new instruments.
Practical innovations to help the project run smoothly:
“We organized sets of drop off points in the beginning (during the publicised amnesty so if people wanted to donate items then could either drop them off at BBC Leicester or at local music shops or local venues etc. This saved on the cost of going to collect the instruments and also gave more people the chance to donate.”
1.6 Authors, Financing and networks
Long Journey Home, “an East Midlands wide network that recognises the important role the arts can play in breaking down barriers, empowering the disenfranchised, and enriching the cultural wealth of society as a whole,” awarded a grant of around 1,000 UK Pounds (1,500 Euros), which was used to fund performances and new instruments. As well as buying specific ‘rare’ instruments to augment the collection of western instruments, the money was also used to pay for some repairs.
Both Sheila Mosley and Karen Pirie knew many people, musicians, asylum seekers and refugees and asylum seeking musicians. These informal networks were utilised to spread knowledge of the project as well as to find donors. Furthermore the diversity of BBC mediums was used to spread news of the project.
Karen had the time necessary to “get the ball rolling” because she could incorporate it into her working day, “I was getting dedicated paid time from the BBC to track down musicians, to record their stories and interview them. We were recording their music, aiming to create an archive of Leicestershire based musicians.”
2 Hints for an evaluation
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