Song Healing Trauma
I have always known that music has the power to heal. I've witnessed it. I've experienced it. But I haven't always understood it. For this project, I'd like to explore how sound, tone, harmony and rhythm create emotional states of being to facilitate healing in individuals, communities and institutions.
A little bit about me...
My name is Naia Kete and I want to save the world.
I am an artist. A singer. A songwriter. A musician. I've spent my life dedicated to fueling a timeless, ever-evolving revolution. My vehicle for this has always been music. Sound....Vibration. Recently, I've been contemplating just how powerful that vibration is.
There have been times where my personal pain has felt so overwhelming, I can't move, can't think and as a result feel arrested in my mission of positively impacting the world through song. The interesting thing is that what has lifted me out of those moments has not been to resist, but rather to embrace the pain. In doing so, in the allowing, I transcend and become the next best version of myself more capable of doing the work in the world I aim to do. But what in the world allows us to feel the depth of our pain, and feel SAFE? For me, it has always been music and that's what this project is about.
A Collaborative Vision...
Healing never happens in a silo and I am overjoyed to have such incredible partners with me on this journey. It begins with Artists at Work (AAW), a new program piloting in Western, Massachusetts designed to: "give a significant number of artists a living wage to continue to make work, to activate cultural institutions in support of that work, to put that work into the public sphere for free to audiences (and in doing so to boost local economies), and to connect artists and cultural organizations to local initiatives in areas like youth mental health, suicide prevention, food justice, prison reform, youth at risk, and campaigns for COVID awareness in communities of color, and other civic engagements with the aim of fostering healthy communities."
*see more at https://www.artists-at-work.org/
I'm humbled to be one of the first artists participating in this program. My vision is to write 6 songs inspired by 6 stories. These stories will come from youth involved with The Alianza Project - a youth organization based in Holyoke, MA that addresses the issue of trauma through therapeutic, artistic, spiritual, and pro-social experiences and offers education that highlights the voices of the disenfranchised.
Songs will be written and recorded at the Institute for the Musical Arts (IMA). "The institute’s nonprofit mission is to support women and girls in music and music-related businesses. Rooted in the legacy of progressive equal rights movements, IMA’s development is guided by the visions, needs and concerns of women from a diversity of backgrounds and has grown from the need to nourish ourselves and each other."
*see more at https://www.ima.org
The songs will be released on an EP and available digitally for free to the public. I will also be documenting my process of researching, interviewing, writing and recording these healing songs in a 6 episode docuseries, and will have a digital lyric book available as a free download.
Youth Expert Interview
Have you been affected by trauma? Are you willing to share your thoughts and tell your story? Do you feel moved to support the mission of healing trauma so that you can have a hand in shaping communities and institutions that become better at taking care of YOU? If any of the above is true, click below to schedule an interview with me. Looking forward to speaking with you!
Adult Expert Interview
Are you a parent, educator, therapist, doctor, scientist or healer that has experience navigating trauma? Are you open to sharing your experiences, studies, case work and/or expertise around what has or hasn't worked in effectively holding space for survivors processing traumatic events? If so, click the link below to schedule an interview with me! Looking forward to speaking with you!
