When rap meets colour
From 20 to 22 December 2024, the spaces of Polakoteka and the streets of Seville hosted the first edition of A School Called Tribe – Seville, an experience that brought together rappers, slam poets and writers in a collective creative workshop combining music and graffiti.
Seventeen participants from different backgrounds – from Spain, Senegal and Algeria – came together to share words, rhythm and images in three intense days of workshops, jams and exchanges.
Under the guidance of three professional coaches, the group worked on writing, flow, bar structure and improvisation, combining writing exercises and jam sessions with moments of peer learning and open discussion.
The mornings were devoted to collective writing, while the afternoons turned into open mic cyphers, where everyone could experiment with their own style accompanied by live beats.
At the same time, the group of graffiti writers began a training course with Tinto, a visual artist and muralist, who introduced the basics of lettering, character construction and the relationship between figure and urban space.
Amidst sketches, spray cans and music, the walls of the workshop were filled with colours and keywords such as identidad, raíces and voz.
‘It was like writing a song with the city,’ said one of the participants.
‘The wall became our collective verse.’
The first module of A School Called Tribe ended with a collective evening cypher, open to the local public: a moment of pure energy, where the lyrics created in the workshops became shared performances.
