Arts & Learning
Abjad.me
Still from www.abjad.me.uk
Moqapi Selassie performing at the launch of alleph.net and the announcement of the www.abjad.me.uk workshops at the North Smethwick Festival, August 16th 2003
Abjad.me uses the Arabic alphabet and its numerological associations to provide a 'way in' for people to tell their own stories. Celebrating diversity and highlighting commonality.
Take learning out of a traditional context and you'll be amazed at what can happen. abjad.me is a typical arts and learning project as developed by emote.
A companion project to the BAFTA Interactive Award winning alleph.net abjad.me was a storytelling and digital media project crossing cultures and generations in Sandwell, West Midlands.
abjad is the name given to the numerological associations of the Arabic alphabet. The letters and numbers of the Arabic alphabet provided the 'way-in' for participants to tell their own stories, which they then uploaded to the abjad.me.uk website.
The project was launched by performance poets Moqapi Selassiue and Roi Kwabena at the North Smwthwick Festival, on August 16th 2003.
Workshops took place at the Brasshouse Lane Community Centre in Smethwick and at community libraries across Sandwell during the summer and autumn of 2003. The final workshop session was delivered in conjunction with the Yemeni Community Association working with Yemeni elders - the oldest participant, aged 100, travelling to the venue at Sandwell YMCA on the bus.
Developed by Emote the project was funded by Arts in Sandwell, Awards for All and the Arts Council Youth Arts programme.
Below are some examples of the poems and short stories written during the workshops:
Extract 1
I REMEMBER I REMEMBER
I remember i remember
The house where i was born
I remember i remember
The first word i used to say
I remember i remember
my first baby step
I remember i remember
my very first birthday
I remember i remember
My first day in nursery
I remember i remember
The instrument i used to play
I remember i remember
My first holiday
I remember i remember
My first day at girls brigade
I remember i remember
My first baby tooth
I remember i remember
Latisha, aged 10
Brasshouse
Smethwick
Extract 2
10 YEARS OF CAMEL RACING
When you work on a farm there is an atmosphere of bonding - neighbours may help one another for a couple of days. We grow wheat and corn and there are times when the people work together to do certain tasks. I used to live upstairs and have the animals below: donkeys and camels. I had a camel myself for nearly 10 years and would race it when we had the races as part of Big Eid, a time when traditionally friends would race one another. You have a saddle on its back like on a horse, and a rope going to a ring in its lip. You would pull its head up, and if you wanted it to go faster you would pull back on the rope, towards you.
Saleh Yahir, Elder
Yemeni Community Association,
Carters Green
