Sierra Leone: Telem Freetown announces Telem Week 2023

Telem Freetown was co-founded in 2021 by Solomon Fatoma, Rosaline Iyabode Johnson and Kate Krontiris to nurture an open, experimental creative community in Freetown.

Organisers say the event, scheduled from 10 to 19 November in Freetown, aims to inject valuable time and resources into Sierra Leone’s music ecosystem, with a focus on producing new music albums, forging creative connections and sharing fresh sounds on the global stage.

Kicking off the programme is a seven-day songwriting retreat from 10 to 17 November. Participants will be selected from a diverse local group, all with a commitment to creating EPs, albums, or specific musical projects. The retreat offers mentorship, collaborative opportunities and workshops led by local experts and musicians, covering areas like music production, songwriting, instrumental practice, music theory, storytelling, arts administration, performance, and audio engineering.

The retreat’s daily agenda includes faculty-led workshops, dedicated songwriting sessions, community lunches with song workshopping, paired production time, and jam sessions.

On 17 November, a music ecosystem event will address crucial components of a thriving creative sector, including arts education, performance venues, intellectual property protection and funding mechanisms. This public workshop will engage creatives, financial institutions, telecommunications and entertainment businesses, and other stakeholders in shaping the future of Sierra Leone’s creative landscape.

The grand finale of the Telem Week 2023 will be a two-day performance festival on 18 and 19 November. The event will showcase the new music created during the songwriting retreat, with the first night featuring faculty artists, and the second night highlighting retreat participants supported by faculty musicians. 

In August, musicians from Telem Freetown, including Solos Beat, Iyabode Johnson and Krontiris participated in the Global Musician Workshop in the US. Hosted by Grammy-winning French-American cellist Yo-Yo Ma’s Silk Road non-profit, the week-long artist exchange programme involved various activities like group workshops, elective classes, jam sessions, panel discussions, and a multi-night performance festival featuring both faculty members and participants.