Singing Wells is a not-for-profit collaboration between Abubilla Music, a record label in London, and Ketebul Music, a record label in Kenya, with a decolonial mission to champion, platform and preserve East African traditional music.

Over 15 years, Singing Wells has traveled to remote regions to capture the sounds of local musicians and provide a platform to share their music with the world - 21m views on YouTube and counting.

For Sharjah Art Foundation’s 16th Biennial, Singing Wells was commissioned to create an installation showcasing this incredible archive.

SB16’s theme - “to carry” - explored how different cultures, histories, and stories are carried with us as we move through the world. Combining immersive, thematic “listening pods” with intentional spatial design and screenings of archival footage, the resulting installation - Sonic Inheritances - manifests how within music, we carry the voices, rhythms, and stories of our ancestors across generations and borders.

As curatorial and project lead for Singing Wells’ participation, I led thematic analysis of the archive, working closely with the Singing Wells team to identify the sonic and narrative threads around which the “Listening Pods” would be created, and coordinated the creation of the written and audiovisual exhibition materials.

The project included a listening session, musical performance and workshop at the exhibition space in Sharjah.

In the latter half of 2025, Sonic Inheritances travelled from Sharjah, UAE to feature in Bergen Assembly, Norway.

You can listen to Tabu Osusa, Singing Wells founder and legendary Kenyan music producer, in conversation with Natasha Ginwala, Sharjah Biennial 16 curator, on the SB16 podcast.