Kristen Sinclair

All photos courtesy of Chordblossom's website, linked below. The Sound of Belfast is a festival which champions the music community in Belfast, not strictly from Belfast. Safe Harbour: Concert of the Diaspora is a celebration of the diverse musical talent from across the globe that has found its home on our shores. Sponsored by PRS for Music, NI charity Beyond Skin hosted this intimate event at the Oh Yeah Centre to showcase a handful of global musicians who now call our city home. Against a backdrop of war and displacement, ever increasing numbers of people are finding themselves refugees and seeking safe passage. This migration is enriching our local creative scene, with instruments, songs, styles and skills we haven’t seen before. From Ukraine to Afghanistan to the Congo, the Oh Yeah stage is set for a night of world music. First up is local band Cut Rubber, accompanied by Masha Myndru and the Lisburn Harmony Choir for an epic rendition of ‘Сестра (Sister)’ by Ukrainian band The...

Under the blue domed ceilings of the former Tesco building at 2 Royal Avenue, Rym Akhonzada is behind the counter at the newly opened Yallaa café. The goods on sale range from local favourites fifteens to Arab specialities like manakeesh. Originally from Tunisia, Rym is a linguist and the founder of Yallaa, a social enterprise with the aim of promoting Arab culture here in the North. ‘Yallaa’ means ‘let’s go’ or ‘let’s do it’ in Arabic. “It is probably the most spoken word in the Arabic language and throughout the Arab world,” she explains. “So that’s why I’ve chosen the name, something that’s easy to pronounce for non-Arabic speakers, but then it has a meaning to it as well.” The positive, energetic connotation of the word is reflective of the work the organisation does. Yallaa started in 2016 in Lisburn to support Syrian refugees with their integration and social needs. To date, hundreds of people benefited from the activities and services offered. With the amount of projects going o...

  “I am not a criminal” Sara* photographed by Stuart Bailie I meet Sara for the first time in a city centre café on a chilly January evening. We browse the touch-screen menu of elaborate coffees and settle on something sweet and iced. She is an Iranian musician, refugee and the driving force behind a scheme bringing music to asylum seekers here. Sara is not her real name, but one she uses to protect her family back in Iran. Sara was forced to flee her home country and has been in Belfast for over six months. As guitar teacher by profession, music has been a lifeline for her here and now something she can use to help others in similar situations through the Guitars for Newcomers initiative. Organised by Darren Ferguson, head of local arts organisation Beyond Skin, the project takes donations of old guitars from the public, has them refurbished and given to asylum seekers. Many of the recipients of the guitars are learning to play for the first time – and that’s where Sara comes in. ...