About OneBeat Institute
OneBeat Institute is an exchange program designed to provide a space for creative entrepreneurs in the OneBeat network to grow, learn and strengthen the creative ecosystems in their home countries through project tailored mentorship. OneBeat Alumni and their community partners are invited to attend an intensive 2-week residency to clarify their enterprise’s strategic vision, refine curriculum, develop their project-specific business and multi-year plans, and map out funding goals. During the Institute, Fellows share their work, participate in creative exercises to develop new ideas, and receive professional and peer to peer mentorship with leading U.S. based mentors from across business, arts, culture, technology, and education sectors.
Institute 2024 Projects
Cypher
Carolina Orozco Rubio & Juan Juárez Martínez | Mexico
The CYPHER project aims to provide a safe and permanent facility for teaching, centered around a Hip Hop Artistic Center that promotes the development of children and adolescents. Hip Hop stands out for its ability to transform environments, promoting social cohesion and the construction of identity, and also serves as a channel to express emotions necessary for complete human development. The Center will focus on aspects such as self-esteem and emotional management to reduce violent spaces, improve coexistence and resolve conflicts through Hip Hop disciplines such as Breaking (or breakdance), Graffiti, Rap (or MCing), and DJing (or turntablism) & Beatmaking. The Cypher is not only Mexico’s first Hip Hop Artistic Center, but also its first Cultural Center & Archive.
Sound Force Studio
Margaryta Kulichova & Tarun Madupu | Ukraine & Portugal
Sound Force Studio is a Lisbon-based sound design space founded by a multicultural collective of artists from Ukraine, India, and Lebanon. Emphasizing cross-border collaborations, the studio works with musicians, filmmakers, and other media artists to create resonant narratives through sound design and storytelling. With a focus on socially responsible storytelling, Sound Force Studio harnesses the power of sound and music to elevate diverse voices.
Meşk
Ruşen Can Acet & Zeynep Ayşe Hatipoğlu | Turkey
The Meşk project aims to develop digital learning tools/mobile apps for non-western music education. The project provides tools for cultural heritage in music, aiming to support immigrants’ musical education in the future. Meşk’s first mobile app is a microtonal tuner that focuses on Anatolian masters’ microtonal tuning systems. The next step for the project is a musical game that teaches traditional musical instruments. Until now, Meşk’s efforts have primarily focused on Turkish traditional music, reaching mostly communities in Turkey. The team now wishes to expand the Meşk community, as the app has the potential to become an international tool for learning traditional music, whether for people living abroad who are far from their culture, or for those who want to explore different cultures.
Rawa
Isah Danladi Matankari & Msughter Wuese Iwar | Nigeria
Creative Council Africa is a dynamic collective of visionary musicians, filmmakers, indigenous technologists and cultural practitioners dedicated to enriching Abuja’s creative ecosystem through resource exchange, strategic collaborations, peer mentorship, and community building. The Council empowers local creative talents, fostering a sustainable creative future with the goal of extending this model to benefit creative communities in other African cities. ‘Rawa’ – Powered by Creative Council Africa is the first national collection, sensitization and archiving of popular music history in Nigeria, beginning from the 1950s and ending in the 2000s, addressing the gap in preserving Nigeria’s musical heritage for future generations.
Sanjat Band
Hussein Ameer Harbi & Anwar Ahmed | Iraq
Sanjat Band is a groundbreaking percussion band founded in 2021 in Baghdad, born from a genuine desire to challenge societal norms and bring about positive change. The first percussion band of its kind in modern Iraq, Sanjat Band is composed solely of percussionists, including female musicians, and focuses on presenting percussion performances accompanied by group singing. Sanjat provides a safe space for young people in Baghdad to learn percussion, practice music, and express their own views and ideas in an artistic, rhythmic way. The Band also delivers original pieces, blending rhythms and percussive instruments unique to Iraq, accompanied by choral singing.