Art Moves: Bulawayo to Glasgow was a collaboration between Many Studios and Mema Arts (Zimbabwe) addressing intangible culture in Southern Africa, using workshops, performance and plays to discuss globalisation and the West’s influence over the global South.

Workshops and performances in Bulawayo took place January – February 2017, working with 25 young people over two weeks, developing skills in Mbira making, as well as mbira playing, song and dance.

Presenting the Mbira, an instrument indigenous to Zimbabwe, the project focused on the fading understanding and appreciation of indigenous African instruments.  By facilitating the Project in Zimbabwean and Scottish spaces ‘Bulawayo to Glasgow’ transferred authentic narratives into creative expression both impacting perceptions.

Mema Arts’ director Bruce Ncube travelled to the UK for the second phase of the project – a series of three music workshops around Scotland (Glasgow, Arbroath and Helmsdale). The project closed at the end of April with an incredible public performance, inviting musicians from Senegal and Zimbabwe to play together, entirely improvised!

The entire project was documented, and Many Studios commission Matesu Dube to create a short film from the Zimbabwe events, and Iman Tajik to create a short film from the Scotland events which you can watch below.

This project was supported by British Council Zimbabwe as part of Making More Art Happen programme which you can read more about here. (#ArtsZWUK)