Nepal
From December 5 to December 16, 2021, five Hip Hop artists hosted a virtual Next Level program in Nepal. Dancer Lisa Engelken, Michael “ADUM⁷” Dottin, DJ Lean Rock, One Be Lo, and videographer Juan Gomez, joined Site Manager Pinqy Ring to lead a hybrid residency collaborating with local artists to promote cross-cultural creative exchange and conflict transformation. Team Nepal is part of a larger Next Level cohort of American MCs, DJs, beatmakers, and Hip Hop dancers seeking to create global community through Hip Hop culture.
Next Level, a cultural diplomacy program that uses Hip Hop to create connections, is an initiative of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the U.S. Department of State, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and Meridian International Center. The program promotes conflict transformation, entrepreneurship, and artistic and professional development among younger and underserved audiences around the world.
This residency partnered with the Nepal Hip Hop Foundation, a youth-centered non-profit that uses breaking and other Hip Hop elements to raise awareness about issues such as drug abuse, violence, and the environment.
For the first week, Next Level Nepal was entirely virtual. Students tuned in to participate in workshops focused on their Hip Hop element of interest. Over the course of the week, the team discussed topics such as conflict transformation, entrepreneurship, collaboration, fair compensation, and the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on artistic practice. The team also welcomed members from the Music Royalty Collection Society of Nepal who presented on collecting royalties and monetizing musical work.
For the second week, the residency adopted a hybrid model. The Next Level Team taught remotely from the United States, while the participants met at the Shivapuri Secondary School in Kathmandu. Students worked with their peers to develop skills within their respective disciplines and gathered as a larger group for programming such as the artist-educator showcase and final showcase rehearsal. Next Level Nepal ended with a hybrid final event where the participants had the opportunity to perform on an outdoor stage.