Join storyteller and musician Emmanuela Yogolelo for a family friendly performance on the afternoon of Fri 29 Oct. This interactive session uses music and storytelling to gently explore climate change and its links to colonialism, race and migration. Audience members will be encouraged to join in with the traditional songs including call and response, clapping, body percussion and hear music and stories from the region.
The Congo Basin is an amazing place. It spans 6 countries and is home to the second largest rainforest on Earth, and the world’s deepest river. It is rich in wildlife, including gorillas, forest elephants, hippos, bonobos and okapis.
Emmanuela says: ‘Many rains/moons ago, where I come from people use to come together most evenings and before bedtime, under a tree or around a fire, to listen to adults’ telling stories and learn. Some evenings, a grandmother would be the storyteller. She could start her story with a song, and where I come from, music is communal and participative, so everyone would join in with singing, percussions or dance. I can tell you straight away something is happening with Mother Nature, something has been done to the environment. Just like those people in the past, you can hear our personal experiences of climate change from a justice point of view and join in the story.’
This Performance will be followed by a Q&A with Emmanuela and artist-activist, Kooj Chuhan.
This will be a thought-provoking discussion about the ways in which colonialism, conflict, race and migration connect with climate change. Originally developed as part of Horizons Festival and presented in association with CAN (Community Arts North West).
- Words:
- Wire Editor
- Published on:
- Fri 1 Oct 2021
