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| World of Music, Arts and Dance | |
|---|---|
| Name | World of Music, Arts and Dance |
| Abbreviation | WOMAD |
| Type | Festival and Cultural Network |
| Founded | 1982 |
| Founders | Peter Gabriel; Thomas Brooman; Bob Hooton; Stephen Vaughan |
| Location | International (United Kingdom; Australia; New Zealand; Canada) |
World of Music, Arts and Dance is an international festival and cultural network that presents Peter Gabriel, Steve Reich, Youssou N'Dour, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and many other performers from across Africa, Asia, Latin America, Europe and the Pacific Ocean. The organization collaborates with institutions such as the British Council, UNESCO, BBC and Glastonbury Festival, and has inspired programming at venues including the Royal Albert Hall, Sydney Opera House, Roskilde Festival and the Lincoln Center.
World of Music, Arts and Dance operates as a touring and residency model connecting artists like Fela Kuti, Ali Farka Touré, Buena Vista Social Club, Ravi Shankar and Björk with presenters including Coachella, Montreux Jazz Festival, Carnegie Hall, Southbank Centre and the National Theatre. Partnerships have linked the organization to broadcasters such as Channel 4 (UK), NHK, PBS and Arte, and to record labels like Real World Records, ECM Records, Island Records, Nonesuch Records and Sony Music Entertainment.
Founded in 1982 by Peter Gabriel with curatorial input from Thomas Brooman, Bob Hooton and Stephen Vaughan, the organization emerged out of the post-punk and worldbeat currents that touched artists like Talking Heads, Paul Simon, George Harrison and David Byrne. Early lineups drew on traditions represented by Miriam Makeba, Salif Keita, Anoushka Shankar, Caja Cubana and Tinariwen, and engaged promoters including Meltdown Festival, Camden Town, Brixton Academy and Hammersmith Apollo. The model paralleled initiatives from Africa Centre, Carnegie Hall's 'American Folk Masters' and Smithsonian Folklife Festival.
Programming spans Afrobeat artists linked to Fela Kuti, Highlife musicians associated with E.T. Mensah, Samba exponents from Brazil connected to Gilberto Gil and Caetano Veloso, Flamenco performers like Paco de Lucía, Classical Indian gharanas exemplified by Ravi Shankar and Zakir Hussain, Gnawa masters of Morocco such as Maâlem Mahmoud Gania, and contemporary crossovers involving Bjork, Thom Yorke, Björk collaborators and Radiohead affiliates. The festival has showcased jazz figures like Miles Davis, Herbie Hancock, Dizzy Gillespie, Esperanza Spalding and Wynton Marsalis, and electronic innovators tied to Kraftwerk, Aphex Twin, The Chemical Brothers and Massive Attack.
Key institutional collaborators include Real World Records founded by Peter Gabriel, cultural agencies such as the British Council and UNESCO, presenters like BBC Proms and Southbank Centre, and funding bodies including Arts Council England. The network has worked with museums and galleries such as the Victoria and Albert Museum, Tate Modern, Musée du quai Branly and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and with education partners like Royal College of Music, University of Oxford, University of Cambridge and Yale School of Music.
The organization appears at events and venues including WOMAD (UK), WOMADelaide, WOMEX, Glastonbury Festival, Roskilde Festival, Montreux Jazz Festival, SXSW, Newport Folk Festival and regional showcases in Lima, Accra, Hanoi and Auckland. Touring residencies have linked to the Sydney Festival, Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Lollapalooza, Bonnaroo Music Festival and Isle of Wight Festival, while specialist events have featured curators from Meltdown Festival, Green Man Festival and Latitude Festival.
Education initiatives have partnered with institutions such as Royal Academy of Music, Guildhall School of Music and Drama, Berklee College of Music, Juilliard School and Conservatoire de Paris to offer workshops taught by artists including Anoushka Shankar, Zakir Hussain, Youssou N'Dour, Salif Keita and Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan protégés. Outreach programs collaborate with community groups like The Sage (Gateshead), Southbank Centre Learning, National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain and folk organizations such as English Folk Dance and Song Society.
The organization influenced cross-cultural collaborations exemplified by projects involving Paul Simon's Graceland, Ry Cooder's work with Buena Vista Social Club, Brian Eno's ambient collaborations, and film soundtracks by Martin Scorsese, Jim Jarmusch and Wim Wenders. Its cultural impact is reflected in scholarship from Oxford University Press, exhibitions at the British Museum, policy dialogues at UNESCO and programming shifts at major festivals like Glastonbury Festival and Coachella. Artists associated with the network have received awards such as the Grammy Award, Mercury Prize, Polar Music Prize and Order of Merit.