A World Tour: Global Game Changers in the Arts Make Music with World Up

BY Trixie Cordova, October 11, 2010

Traveling with a large group of people can be pretty disastrous. Personalities can clash, various cultures and backgrounds can exacerbate a situation, and one-time travel buddies can feel more like mortal enemies by journey’s end.

What if you were traveling to another part of the world for the first time in your life, among a group of 20 people from 20 different countries? That was the premise of “Promoting Social Tolerance Through the Arts,” a multi-regional project hosted by the US Department of State as part of the International Visitor Leadership Program. Professionals in the arts came to collaborate on ideas that could enhance arts-based education, inspire social change, and celebrate diversity. Hailing from all corners of the earth—from Argentina to Kenya, and Bangladesh to Haiti—these pros were all eager to devise innovative ways to collaborate on a global scale.

World Up was asked to facilitate an interactive workshop for the traveling delegation, because the program fit so perfectly into our mission of using the arts to promote tolerance, social change and multi-cultural understanding. And coming off of the recent success of our Living Remix workshop at Future Now, we knew that we had to get Spazecraft on board for another organic jam session.

Check the video to see just what went down:

This room full of inspired artists proved that despite any linguistic, cultural and racial divides, music always finds a way to bring people together. As these artists collaborated to make beats from their hands, feet and breath, they also encouraged one another to step up and contribute. The result is an unbelievable synergy of talent, hear it here:

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Following our workshop, the pros took off to tour the U.S. before returning to their home countries. We like to think our workshop helped them bond as a group, and that they came away with a little more understanding of music’s ability to bridge gaps that literally span the globe. Plus, collaborating on an original track makes for one hell of a souvenir.

For more information on the Living Remix, check out Future Now.

For more on Spazecraft, visit his website at http://sohnup.com/.