Creativity, Rhythm, and Diversity: Mr. Klaje in Rural Schools of Northern Ireland

In February 2025, the Colombian collective Mr. Klaje / Innovaser visited the town of Draperstown, in County Londonderry (Northern Ireland), to run a series of creative workshops with the children of St Mary's Primary School. This experience was part of a collaboration with Queen's University Belfast, the British Council, and the Glasgowbury community centre, renowned for its work in music education with young people in the region.

The workshops focused on a participatory methodology in which music, songwriting, and percussion served as key tools to foster dialogue around cultural diversity and promote creativity as a shared language across cultures. Through musical play, rap, dance, and the collective creation of rhythms, students were introduced to new forms of artistic expression while opening themselves up to different realities, languages, and ways of inhabiting the world.

The approach of the collective Mr. Klaje, originally from Cali, Colombia, is rooted in the use of art as a driver for social transformation. In their home context, they have worked with vulnerable youth and former gang members, promoting peace and reconciliation through artistic creation. In Northern Ireland, that same transformative spirit was present, engaging with local children through respect, joy, and sonic exploration.

During the session, students from St Mary’s learned to rap, play drums, and create songs together, while also experimenting with Spanish words and exploring rhythms different from those they are familiar with. The classroom was transformed into a space of play, learning, and intercultural exchange.

Teachers and attendees highlighted the value of these experiences as a fundamental part of children's holistic development, especially in an educational context where the arts are often sidelined by other curricular demands. Activities like this reaffirm the power of music to connect worlds, open up dialogue, and plant seeds of empathy, respect, and collaboration from the earliest ages.