Under the Bantaba - a new project from LW Arts CIC
We’re delighted to announce that LW Arts CIC has received funding from Arts Council England for our new project, Under the Bantaba.
Under the Bantaba is a women-led music project bringing people together through West African music, shared learning, friendship and creative development.
The project takes its name from the bantaba, a gathering place associated particularly with communities in The Gambia, where people come together to talk, listen, share knowledge, exchange stories and spend time with one another.
That spirit of gathering, exchange and connection sits at the heart of the project.
A central part of Under the Bantaba is learning directly from artists with lived cultural and musical knowledge of the traditions we are working with.
Gambian musician Ansumana Susso will lead teaching in kora and balafon, sharing repertoire, technique and the wider cultural context of the music. Josh Doughty will also contribute to the artistic development of the project, supporting further learning and musical exchange.
Other musical and dance artists will take part in this development before working alongside women’s groups, HLDC, schools and community partners across Nottinghamshire.
Rather than separating the music from the people and traditions it comes from, we want the project to keep those connections visible. That means acknowledging the artists, communities and musical lineages behind the work, creating opportunities for Gambian artists to lead, and approaching learning as an ongoing exchange rather than something that can simply be acquired and reproduced.
Under the Bantaba will create welcoming spaces for women to make music together, develop confidence, build friendships and explore their own creativity and leadership.
Participants may begin by learning a rhythm, melody or song, but the longer-term aim is to create spaces where people contribute ideas, support one another, take on leadership and feel a genuine sense of belonging.
Schools will also be part of the project, giving children and young people opportunities to experience the music while learning something about its cultural context and the artists and communities connected to it.
Across the project there will be opportunities to gather, perform and share work at community events and festivals.
We hope that what grows from Under the Bantaba will go beyond individual workshops: new relationships, deeper musical knowledge, greater confidence, stronger community connections and women who feel increasingly able to lead and create.
We are hugely grateful to Arts Council England and National Lottery players for supporting LW Arts CIC to make Under the Bantaba possible, and to the artists, partners and communities who will shape the project with us.
Over the coming months, we’ll be sharing more about the musicians, participants, groups and places that become part of the Under the Bantaba journey.
‘Under the Bantaba’, a new project by LW Arts CIC, funded by Arts Council England
