2010 saw The Boîte continue working to support the development of local artists through a significant community development music project. This time in partnership with The Victorian Foundation for Survivors of Torture, The Boîte supported the development of Kankelay, Sierra Leonean Women’s choir as an exercise in healing and cultural expression. The Boîte then brought the choir to the Daylesford Singers Festival in January, and again the following year, where the group performed and shared their skills through workshops with festival-goers. The partnership continued beyond the festival, to encompass assisting the group to develop a theatrical play about the experiences that brought the women to Australia and the challenges of resettlement.
Through another partnership with Foundation House, The Boîte also worked with members of the Karen community from Burma to further develop musical performances drawing from traditional and contemporary Karen culture. Following five months of workshops and development sessions with members of the Karen community in Melbourne’s west, the project culminated in 80 members of the community performing at the Wyndham Refugee Week Concert to an audience of 400 people. Stemming from the project, several young members of the community went on to perform at The Boîte World Music Cafe in North Fitzroy.