Arts 2019, 8, 14 2 of 16 of exile”];5 Syrians Got Talent was created to send a “strong political message of solidarity and for social inclusion.”6 In this article, we will discuss an initiative led by the Brussels non-profit organization Muziekpublique, which “defends and promotes musics of the world”7 by organizing concerts, coordinating a music school, and producing CDs.8 In October 2015, Muziekpublique launched the Refugees for Refugees project9 to record an album featuring refugee musicians, whose purpose was both artistic, political, and social. Each step was marked by exceptional media coverage and financial support compared to the other projects run by the organization.10 The CD was even awarded Best album of 2016 by the Transglobal World Music Charts. At the same time, the association and the musicians faced administrative and ethical problems they had never been encountering before. As a former Muziekpublique’s employee, Hélène Sechehaye coordinated the project from inside the organization from 2015 to summer 2016, and then continued to have regular contacts with the project. This article is largely based on her work during that period. We aim at understanding the reasons for the exceptional success the project encountered in the cultural, associative, and media worlds. We will also discuss the ambiguity of this process that develops a common identity of “refugees” while simultaneously valuing their diversity. Finally, we will try to determine whether the project has modified or not the individual trajectories and the migratory careers (Martiniello and Rea 2014) of the musicians involved? To what extent and at what level did it help—or not—the musicians to rebuild their lives in Belgium? 2. Refugee Musicians, Bearers of Attacked Traditions The analytical methods applied to musical practices in migratory context are of growing interest, having first emerged in the Anglo-Saxon world,11 and recently reached the French-speaking academic world.12 These studies often focus on the activity of minorities within urban societies, on diversity and multiculturality about western cities subject to globalization (Stokes 2004; Vertovec 2009; Aubert 2011; Bouët and Solomos 2011; Martiniello 2014; Devleeshouwer et al. 2015). In this context, Élina Djebbari’s study of a “transcultural” project identifies the two directions of application: one in which “hybridization is established as a norm”, the other advocating “the promotion of identities (where it is considered that the original musical style must remain identifiable, despite the mixing” (Djebbari 2012, p. 10). The concept of “diversity” is handled by the Belgian political world in the 21st century (Observatoire des Politiques Culturelles 2013, p. 4) to legitimize its public policies—even if what becomes a value is far from being shared by all segments of the population. Moreover, cross-cultural projects involving diversity are sometimes criticized for their “substantialization”13 of cultures (Zask 2014), as well as for their representation of a form of diversity that would be “acceptable”, and “aseptic” (Sainsaulieu et al. 2010, pp. 103–12). 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Achille Thomas, “Musiques d’exil: le Festival Musiq’3 lance un projet de soutien aux réfugiés” [Musics of exile: Musiq’3 Festival launches a project to support refugees], Musiq’3, 2 February 2016 [https://www.rtbf.be/musiq3/emissions/detail_festival-musiq3/ accueil/article_musiques-d-exil-le-festival-musiq-3-lance-un-projet-de-soutien-aux-refugies?id=9203019&programId=3773 seen 24 August 2018]. Description of the project on their Facebook page Syrians Got Talent [https://www.facebook.com/pg/SyriansGotTalent/about/ seen 24 August 2018]. About this controversial designation, read (Aubert 2005, 2011; Bachir-Loopuyt 2008; Bouët and Solomos 2011; Olivier 2012). Organization’s description on their website [https://muziekpublique.be/about/?lang=en, seen 24 August 2018]. Band’s website [http://muziekpublique.be/artists/refugees-for-refugees/ seen 18 September 2018]. Interview with Peter Van Rompaey and Lynn Dewitte, Brussels, 28 February 2018 [our translation]. To name a few: (Stokes 1994; Baily and Collyer 2006; Zheng 2009; Levi and Scheding 2010; Bouët and Solomos 2011; Pistrick 2015; Martiniello et al. 2009; . . . ). Several research projects are being carried out in Nanterre and Saint-Étienne (Damon-Guillot and Lefront 2017); the 2018–2019 nomadic seminar of the French Society of Ethnomusicology is entitled “Music and immigration in France”; the next issue of the Cahiers d'Ethnomusicologie will be devoted to “Migrants’ Music”. We can also mention Martiniello et al. (2009). Substantialization of culture, sometimes called “essentialization” (Capone 2004; Djebbari 2012) is defined by Zask as follows: “a particular culture as a kind of unified whole that customs have fixed on the one hand, history and circumstances on the other. Ethnicity then appears as an index of fixity”, a stable entity hermetic to change that would stick to the skin.