​​
About Air Tanganyika Library
​
Since our founding in 2018, Providence World Music Institute has nurtured a profound vision—to create Air Tanganyika Library, a living Library of Music, Art, and Garden in Burundi. This unique cultural hub is dedicated to preserving, celebrating, and regenerating Burundi’s intangible heritage, which has faced urgent threats from years of unrest, climate change, and the loss of elder knowledge
Air Tanganyika Library is designed as a multi-faceted sanctuary that invites the senses and sustains traditions.
What Makes Air Tanganyika Library Unique
-
Library & Archives
Here, recordings, manuscripts, oral histories, and craft documentation come together under one roof—preserving the voices of musicians, artisans, and storytellers. -
Elders-in-Residence & Fellowships
At the heart of Air Tanganyika is our Elders-in-Residence program: revered musicians, potters, blacksmiths, and tradition-bearers live and create onsite, offering hands-on transmission of knowledge alongside visiting researchers and artists. This deepens the intergenerational dialogue and ensures that when an elder passes, their "library" does not disappear, but lives on. -
Art & Music Spaces
Dedicated studios, performance halls, and gallery spaces host both traditional and contemporary exhibitions, workshops, and concerts—making intangible heritage tangible and accessible. -
Garden as Living Archive
Our gardens are not decorative afterthoughts, but essential components of cultural storytelling. They showcase plants used in instrument making, traditional medicine, and ritual. Think of the Gourd (Calabash) and Ritual Drum trees (Umuvugangoma Sacred trees). -
Residencies & Collaboration
Musicians, artists, and scholars are invited to stay and immerse themselves in Burundian cultural life, creating works, conducting research, and fostering connections among communities. -
Public Programs & Digital Reach
From performances and lectures to digital collections and publications, Air Tanganyika Library aims to bridge local tradition with global appreciation.
​
Why This Model Is Vital
-
A Living, Holistic Archive
By combining library, garden, studio, and residential life, the institute becomes more than a site of preservation—it’s a thriving ecosystem of cultural continuity. -
Elders as Vital Engines
The Elders-in-Residence ensure that know-how is not frozen in archives, but activated—continuing to teach, create, and inspire. -
Rooted Global Visibility
Air Tanganyika stands to become both locally grounded and globally recognized.
​