About Crossings


Crossings is a cross-cultural, community music project bringing together asylum seekers, refugees, local and international musicians, to collaborate on the development and performance of their music. Its aims are to promote integration and community cohesion by providing a platform for refugees, asylum seekers and the local community to collaborate through the arts. Roots to Harmony offers a range of musical and social opportunities, leading on from Crossings’ eighteen month pilot programme. These include weekly musician-led open sessions; a women’s and children’s choir; a band which performs regularly at community events, local venues and festivals; and a ‘Diversity Facilitation Training’ programme, responding to needs identified through the project. This involves training band and choir members to assist in delivering participatory and engaging taster sessions and workshops. These workshops aim to raise participants’ aspirations, develop their creative, social and life skills, promote intercultural communication and increase participants’ awareness of the benefits of diversity. Crossings’ projects and performances contribute to social inclusion and community cohesion, tackling racism and prejudice, and demonstrating how refugees and asylum seekers can make a positive contribution to their local community.


History 

The project was initiated by Folk Music student, Lucy Fairley (retired co-director of Helix Arts, www.helixarts.com) who spent five months on Tyneside, researching asylum seekers' and refugees' responses to a possible music project.

Members of the committee, who came together through this research, are mostly either asylum seekers, refugees or are/have been involved in working with them and therefore all are intimately connected with their needs and interests.

A questionnaire for asylum seekers was also sent to the major refugee organisations on Tyneside together with interviews. The results from these questionnaires and interviews demonstrated many asylum seekers' strong interest in being able to continue to play music in the UK, which they had been unable to do, as many do not possess an instrument or a place in which they can play. A number of people, especially women, expressed an interest in singing. This ranged from women who sang in choirs to those who would like to learn; a number of the latter said they would prefer a women-only group, with creche, in which they could feel able to express themselves more freely.

A number of refugee musicians said they did not understand the pathways to becoming professional performers in the UK. They felt that a music project would enable them to learn about local musical traditions through working with local musicians. They were excited about the potential of creating powerful new fusions - collaborative music evolving from the coming together of diverse traditions. They wanted to perform this music to the local community to demonstrate the positive contribution they could make to the cultural life on Tyneside.

Organisation

Crossings is a Registered Charity, charity number 1144577 and a Company Limited by Guarantee, company number 7478145. The committee consists of people drawn from the open session, choir and refugee community, meeting regularly to review the progress of the project. There are also meetings to which all Crossings members are invited, to contribute their ideas and suggestions.