Core Research Themes
The project documents Sudan’s musical heritage through four interconnected areas of field research, preserving knowledge, performance, and cultural memory across diverse communities.
Documenting community knowledge musical traditions and lived experiences through long term research across Sudan .
Recording traditional rhythms, performance practices, and intangible cultural heritage to preserve Sudan’s diverse musical traditions.
A long-term field research initiative documenting Sudan’s diverse musical heritage through community-based research, documentation, and artistic preservation.
2021
Across Sudan
Field research conducted in multiple regions, beginning with extensive documentation across Darfur before expanding to other parts of the country.
Traditional rhythms, musical instruments, oral history, performance traditions, languages, cultural identity, and intangible heritage.
Preserving and revitalizing Sudan’s musical heritage through research, documentation, archival development, and contemporary artistic production.
The project documents Sudan’s musical heritage through four interconnected areas of field research, preserving knowledge, performance, and cultural memory across diverse communities.
Documenting and analyzing the rhythmic traditions of Sudan’s diverse cultural communities, preserving performance structures, local styles, and their social and historical significance.
Recording indigenous musical instruments, craftsmanship, playing techniques, and the knowledge systems surrounding their construction and performance.
Preserving songs, oral histories, storytelling, ceremonial performances, and community memory passed between generations through music and lived experience.
Exploring the connections between music, language, identity, ritual, migration, and everyday life to understand Sudan’s rich cultural landscape and intangible heritage.
Organized a series of community-based cultural festivals across Sudan, bringing together musicians, dancers, traditional performers, and local communities to celebrate cultural diversity and strengthen social cohesion. The festivals served as platforms for documenting living traditions while fostering dialogue, reconciliation, and peaceful coexistence through shared artistic practice.
Key Outcomes
• Community-led cultural dialogue
• Documentation of living traditions
• Peacebuilding through artistic collaboration
• Strengthened intercultural understanding
An interdisciplinary artistic initiative responding to the rise of hate speech and social fragmentation in Sudan. The project brought together musicians, poets, visual artists, traditional storytellers (Hakamats), and researchers to create artistic works grounded in lived experiences, cultural memory, and community narratives, promoting empathy, coexistence, and peace.
Key Outcomes
• Creative responses to hate speech
• Community storytelling and oral history
• Collaborative artistic production
• Public awareness through multimedia campaigns
An ongoing cross-cultural artistic project using music, film, and collaborative production to amplify messages of peace, cultural identity, and social resilience. Through multilingual performances and partnerships with artists across Africa, the initiative transforms documented heritage and lived experiences into contemporary artistic works that encourage dialogue beyond borders.
Key Outcomes
• Music and film production
• Cross-cultural artistic collaboration
• Heritage-inspired contemporary creation
• Peace advocacy through creative expression
Founded and led by Hamza Castro, the Sudan Music Research Project is a long-term field research initiative dedicated to documenting, preserving, and revitalizing Sudan’s diverse musical heritage. Through extensive field research, artistic production, academic collaboration, and cultural documentation, the project has gained recognition through international publications, conferences, media features, and cultural platforms, reflecting its contribution to heritage preservation, knowledge production, and peacebuilding.
Sudan Music Research Project contributed to documenting violations against artists, musicians, cultural institutions, museums, and archaeological heritage during the Sudan war through a collaborative human rights report produced with the African Centre for Justice and Peace Studies (ACJPS).
Conference presentations, keynote talks, university lectures, and international forums presenting the Sudan Music Research Project, cultural documentation, peacebuilding, and African musical heritage.
Television interviews, documentary films, and broadcast features highlighting the Sudan Music Research Project, cultural heritage, and the role of music in peacebuilding.
Radio interviews documenting field research, cultural heritage, and the impact of war on Sudan’s artistic communities.
Public presentations, festivals, exhibitions, and collaborative cultural initiatives sharing research outcomes with wider audiences.