Weaving and Interweaving, an Interactive Musical Experience (2022)

Weaving and Interweaving, an Interactive Musical Experience — 8 events in 5 regions of Quebec (Kamouraska, Matapédia, Chaudière-Appalaches, Centre-du-Québec, and Estrie) from September 10 to October 9, 2022.

Program
Musicians
Artist
Regional Ambassadors
Partners

The event Weaving and Interweaving, an Interactive Musical Experience, aimed to foster — with music as a facilitating agent — closer ties between citizens.

Program

A program of regional ambassadors. The ambassadors, local spokespersons for the project, helped promote the events and mobilize citizens in their communities. This approach aimed to develop a culture of sharing while valuing the contributions of the respective communities.
Data compilation for the subsequent creation of a rural manifesto for intercultural rapprochement, to which citizens will be invited to contribute.
Audiovisual documentation of the exchanges for the creation of video capsules to be broadcast later.
Musical presentation, exchange, and workshop between the project musician, Othman Wahabi, the Mélanger family (in certain locations), and citizens during public events.

Musicians

Othman Wahabi

https://othmanwahabi.com

Othman Wahabi is a Moroccan-Canadian singer-songwriter, guitarist, multi-instrumentalist, and music producer. Born in Casablanca on September 26, 1983, he spent the first twenty years of his life there before moving to Montreal, Canada, in 2005.

Othman is best known for his slide guitar playing, smoky voice, and eclectic blues records that often blend Afro-American blues with North and West African melodies, as well as other influences such as reggae, jazz, rock, and folk music.

While some of his compositions are marked by deliberate versatility, other songs remain faithful to the traditional acoustic roots blues formula.

Lyrically, Othman tends to focus on spirituality and socially conscious themes. Common themes in his music include racism, the unity of peoples, poverty, and the need for redemption.

Other Projects

Othman is also the founding member of the garage blues rock band Othman Wahabi & The Blues Punk Machine and the Moroccan alternative punk collective Raging Indigenous.

Influences

Ali Farka Toure, Abdelmajid Bekkas, Hassan Hakmoun, John Lee Hooker, John Hammond Jr., Ry Cooder, Nass al Ghiwane, Idris Muhammad, Burning Spears, Peter Tosh, Santana, Chris Rea, Yusef Lateef, Boubacar Traore, Tinariwen, and many others.

“The main reason I have dedicated my life to music is the power it provides to build bridges between people. Regardless of the color of their skin, their religion, their orientation, or even their political affiliation. That is why I am delighted to share my art with you. Because, in the end, what unites us is stronger than what divides us.” Othman Wahabi

The Mélanger Family

The Mélanger family is an open musical group whose members come from diverse backgrounds, performing songs in different languages with a very particular style, blending various musical instruments and voices. The group’s objective is to promote the integration of immigrants and people of diverse cultural origins into Quebec society through the universal language of music.

Artist

Benoît Lévesque | Visual Artist

https://www.benoitlevesqueart.com/

Born in Quebec City, Benoît Lévesque is an artist whose work is in continuous evolution. He has held several solo exhibitions, public performances, and numerous collective exhibitions over more than thirty years, including in Sakai and Kyoto, Japan.

The artist’s works can be found in private, public, and corporate collections.

In the Colors of Humanity

In the Colors of Humanity is a work created as part of the Weaving and Interweaving, an Interactive Musical Experience project. It was at the church of Saint-Apollinaire in Quebec that Benoît Lévesque, a visual artist, found inspiration in the music of Othman Wahabi Blues and The Mélanger Family.