Beyond Skin

Founded on the belief that music and the arts bring people and communities closer together, Beyond Skin design and organise creative projects that promote interaction between different cultures. They first established a musical partnership with the Afghanistan National Institute of Music in 2016, but it was in 2020 that they took on their most ambitious project yet.

The group launched an unprecedented collaboration between young artists from Northern Ireland and Afghanistan which saw them perform together over three months to create three music videos of their joint productions. They performed popular Afghan songs with an Irish twist, with instruments such as the traditional tin whistle - closely associated with Celtic folk music - worked into the arrangement. These emotive music videos were accompanied by recorded visual diaries from the musicians documenting their experiences.

The logistics behind a project of this kind were huge, with the teams overcoming the challenges raised by the Covid-19 pandemic and security challenges in Afghanistan. Their importance was also highlighted by the fact that just weeks after one song was recorded, the Ministry of Education in Afghanistan banned girls of 12 years and older from singing in public arenas. The ongoing security situation in Afghanistan is perilous and the return of the Taliban back to power, a regime that previously banned music entirely, is extremely concerning.

The logistics behind a project of this kind were huge, with the teams overcoming the challenges raised by the Covid-19 pandemic and security challenges in Afghanistan. Their importance was also highlighted by the fact that just weeks after one song was recorded, the Ministry of Education in Afghanistan banned girls of 12 years and older from singing in public arenas. The ongoing security situation in Afghanistan is perilous and the return of the Taliban back to power, a regime that previously banned music entirely, is extremely concerning.