An ethnic fusion of stories and songs
Ireland-Israel
Colum Sands-Sharon Aviv

Two artists blending words and music with sensitivity and humour in a fascinating journey across time, place and cultural boundaries.
Sharon Aviv and Colum Sands met on stage (literally) during an international storytelling concert in England in 1998. Soon after that first meeting, they began to explore how stories and songs can help to break the silence and lack of communication so often the mark of divided communities, not only in their own countries, but also throughout the world. In 2001 they have toured twice in Israel and in November 2002 they completed there second tour in Ireland.
Colum Sands is a member of the internationally known Sands Family from County Down. Appearing with them and as a solo performer, he has taken his unique style of songwriting and story telling to over thirty countries around the world. Colum Sands is a presenter of BBC Radio Ulster's Folk Club programme. His first book "Between the Earth and the Sky" has been published in 2001.

Sharon Aviv an Israeli storyteller and a theatre creator, graduate of the Visual Theatre College in Jerusalem, is a winner of the Israeli Artists Committee Creators Award. Sharon takes part in artistic encounters for the promotion of peace in the Middle East through the form of Israeli Arab story telling sessions. Sharon combines her stories with classical, jazz, ethnic and folk musicians and performs both in the Middle East and in Europe.

"Walls only lose their power when we transcend their physical boundaries…Colum and Sharon use the wall as a prop to lean on, to talk across. Here is the meeting place of wide horizons…the transcendent intelligence of the heart."
Lesley-Ann Wilson Belfast February 2001

"…It is provacative and educational and spiritual and sometimes just downright funny.."
Sue Tourkin-Komet, Jerusalem October 2001



Colum Sands journal extract October 2001

"...Well, anyway, I'm glad to say that I've arrived safely home from Israel after some adventures but most of them very good ones. It's a strange time over there but (maybe because of that) the gigs were all sold out and people just wanted to stay and talk after the concerts rather than go home. Met some wonderful people over there, played in the Neve Shalom, (Oasis of peace) the first intregrated village and school for Jews and Arabs. Sharon Aviv also arranged a workshop in a Jewish boarding school that had previously hosted visits from an Arab school until things got too hot about a year ago and they stopped doing it.
Anyway the workshop was arranged as part of our tour but a few days before it was to take place, the governor of the Jewish school rang up and said he was really nervous about it, maybe we should cancel it. Sharon talked him out of that and the workshop took place.
It was an amazing success, with the help of translators into Hebrew and Arabic, a few songs and stories were told and after some initial stiffness things started to flow and, by the time we left, all the students (15/16 year olds) were singing and dancing together, Jewish youngsters dancing to an Arab wedding song and myself lashing into the bodhran at the same time! The schools have now decided that they will meet again on a monthly basis. Not going to change the universe but every little bit helps and in a certain way, it will change the world for those young people. Anyway, I came home with much hope, energy and the belief that its far safer and healthier to travel these days than to sit at home watching the news..."