Soft music fills a repurposed school shelter in Sudan, where artists displaced by nearly three years of war have built an unlikely refuge for creativity.
A singer rehearses beside a keyboardist among crowded bedding, both having fled fighting between General Abdel Fattah al Burhan’s army and the Rapid Support Forces.
They are among about 120 artists sharing the improvised shelter, sustaining creative work despite trauma and uncertainty.
In the courtyard, actors, painters and filmmakers have turned a damaged space into a modest centre for expression and solidarity.
Visual artist Mohira Fathi calls the El-Rabat centre a rare cultural haven after fleeing Sudan’s conflict-hit Al-Jazira state.
Outside, disease and hunger persist, while more than nine million people across Sudan remain displaced and 33.7 million need aid.
Residents took odd jobs to buy instruments and art supplies, gradually reviving rehearsals and performances.
With theatres closed and museums looted nationwide, small performances and exhibitions at the shelter show creativity endures despite war.
