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JAGUAR MAGAZINE #07

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  • Arles
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  • Creativity
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David Gandy and his XK120 charm London’s creative quarter | How charity In Place Of War channels creativity in conflict zones | Interior designer Joyce Wang shares the latest trends in luxury | Panasonic Jaguar Racing’s most successful year in Formula E | Meet Jaguar’s new design director Julian Thomson

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where our bodies would go if we were killed. It was surreal.” In Comuna 13, Daniel saw just how radical the impact of music could be. “I’d always thought of it as entertainment, but now I was hearing people say, ‘If it weren’t for hip-hop, I’d be dead’. It was helping to take youngsters out of gang culture and give them a different identity, a different way of expressing themselves and working together to create music.” "ART OPENS UP A SPACE FOR CONVERSATIONS" Ruth Daniel Daniel was inspired to combine her love of music with the power of theatre she had experienced from her early work with In Place of War. “All forms of art can help those living in areas hit by conflict,” she says. “It doesn’t matter how bad the situation, people are always making art. The meaning changes depending on the situation: during the worst of the conflict, it serves as a distraction; the further away the conflict is, the more art can address what has happened, come to terms with it.” In Place of War works organically, through introductions from a constantly evolving network of more than 80 change-makers spread across the globe – people connected to the arts who are striving to help their local communities. The organisation’s relationships to a town or country often extend over many years. In Uganda, for instance, In Place of War has worked for more than a decade, setting up cultural spaces, entrepreneurial programmes, a music festival and even a theatre group designed to change people’s perceptions of conflict survivors with disabilities. Daniel cites the example of 44 / Jaguar Magazine

World In Place of War's projects in Uganda use dance and music to foster social change PHOTOS: JACOB SIMKIN (P.40); KATIE DERVIN (P.42-45) MC Benny, a local hip-hop artist in the city of Gulu, who now runs an agribusiness where 15 other artists work the farm. The money they make enables them to deliver hip-hop classes in a local prison, encouraging young offenders to embrace music instead of crime. Daniel says these projects are vital as people become adjusted to conflict. “For me, the regular sound of gunfire in Palestine was alarming, but for those who live there, it’s completely normal.” In Place of War has set up numerous projects in the region, most notably the Palestine Music Expo, where it has helped support and mentor Palestinian artists. The organisation has helped collect more than 0,000 worth of music equipment for cultural spaces across the area, including refugee camps, and educated trainers to host regular workshops. The organisation aims to transcend borders as often as possible, involving its change-makers in projects across different countries. Perhaps the best example of this is GRRRL, an international electronic music collaboration enabling women from places of conflict to tell their stories. Under the direction of Brazil’s Laima Leyton – part of the Belgian band Soulwax – more than 40 women from countries like Zimbabwe, Bangladesh and Venezuela have contributed to a music and touring project that has produced an album and taken in live performances ranging from East London bars to the Commonwealth Games in Australia. “Women from places like this are among the most marginalised people in the world,” says Daniel. “GRRRL allows them to come together, express themselves and inspire others.” Daniel says the months or even years of work it can take to create such projects always pays dividends and, despite her experience, the effects continue to surprise her. “I’m constantly amazed at the power of art. It opens up a space for conversations to happen that wouldn’t otherwise take place. And without the chance to be creative – what’s the point of living?” J www.inplaceofwar.net Jaguar Magazine / 45

 

JAGUAR

THE JAGUAR MAGAZINE

 

JAGUAR MAGAZINE celebrates creativity in all its forms, with exclusive features that inspire sensory excitement, from seductive design to cutting-edge technology.

The latest issue features a range of inspiring people: from Luke Jennings, creator of Villanelle, one of the most interesting television characters in recent times, to Marcus Du Sautoy, who ponders whether artificial intelligence is on the brink of becoming creative. Out on the road, we visit the US to explore the foodie heaven of Portland in a Jaguar I-PACE, take a Jaguar XE to the south of France to get a photographer’s viewpoint of the charming town of Arles, and much more.

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