Verre binding and Luxor Live are organizing Story & Sound night on June 14!
For the first time, pop venue Luxor is collaborating with Verre binding, a cultural program that involves asylum seekers in Arnhem and vice versa. On Saturday 14 June, the premiere will take place: Story & Sound night is a musical evening, where the stage is cleared for asylum seekers.
Story & Sound night
‘We want to be there for every target group and certainly for people in a refugee situation.’ Niels Leferink is a programmer at Luxor Live and one of the members of the music council that was created this spring. The council, which also consists of six residents of the Arnhem asylum seekers’ centre, band programmer Marijn de Valk and Renée Janssen from Verre binding, has set up a music evening for and by asylum seekers in four months. Renée: ‘Story & Sound Night is our own concept. At the first meeting, we introduced ourselves to each other through a song. There were such great stories that we decided to do the same on stage.’
Story & Sound Night
‘Having a connection with each other is super important. This is a great way to quickly involve people from outside our society in our community.’
Niels, Luxor Live
Exchanging stories
The music council meets monthly. Niels: ‘It’s great to work together on a unique concept. Our common thread is: sharing music that we like, that triggers something in us and that has a story behind it. That is also one of the most powerful parts of Story & Sound, because of course you can just book a band, but it is precisely the exchange of stories that gives depth.’ He continues: ‘And in any case, it’s always nice to sit around the table with music lovers and musicians.’
Luxor Live
‘Of course you can just book a band, but it is precisely the exchange of stories that gives depth.’
Niels, Luxor Live
Mo & Kush Band
The evening on 14 June kicks off with three performances, in which music and story are connected. This leads to special results, according to Renée. ‘It will be a mix of live music, storytelling, spoken word and a video clip.’ The main act is Mo & Kush Band, a multicultural group with members from the Netherlands, Sudan, Mali, Spain and Tunisia. The evening will be closed by asylum seeker and musician DJ Arjan. For asylum seekers in possession of a COA pass, the evening is freely accessible.
Mo & Kush Band
Verre binding
Verre binding uses art to create informal encounters between Arnhemmers and newcomers and seeks cooperation with as many Arnhem cultural institutions and parties as possible. Filmtheater Focus was the first to join. Since the end of 2024, the film council has been programming monthly film evenings there. In the new year, Musis & Stadstheater Arnhem and Buddy to Buddy have also joined.