Events, Planning and Preparation

Working at Mbilla Arts has been great so far, I feel like I’ve been learning something new nearly every day.

Last weekend was the first event I’ve been a part of helping facilitate, and the weather forecast recently had me imagining the day was going to be quite difficult. The spectre of heavy rain outside the Walthamstow Trades Hall meant we had to prepare for this, possibly cancelling or postponing, due to the electrical equipment involved in the performance (amplifiers, wires etc).

However, on the day, it had only rained lightly leading up to our start time, and the performance began with no issues. I was wondering all week what the turnout would be like, but with the brilliant performances on the balafon, kora and djembe projected into the streets of Walthamstow, this attracted the attention of many passers-by. It wasn’t long before we had a good audience and it turned out to be a great day – the sun even peeked out from the clouds towards the end!

Next up are the challenges of preparing for our exciting new events coming up as the world begins to open up a bit more. Returning to drumming classes and a new collaboration with Somos Chibchas on Saturdays will mean a lot of admin prep and something new for me to experience. It's all been a good challenge so far and great work experience too.

- Eric