Djembe, pronounced “jem-bay”
an interactive public art installation by artist George Sabra, stands next to the O. Henry Museum at Brush Square in Austin.
Commissioned by the City of Austin, it symbolizes the heart and rhythm of the community, inviting all to participate in a living musical experience that reflects Austin's vibrant music culture.
djembe draws inspiration from Austin’s deeper history of Brush Square—a former cotton yard and railroad hub where enslaved people once worked, and where drumming was forbidden in an effort to silence their rhythms.
This installation honors those silenced histories by inviting everyone to make noise, create, and connect.
The drum was once banned—but now, Austin invites you to beat the drum at Brush Square.
The final sculpture will rise at Brush Square, between Neches and e 4th Street, as a permanent space for gathering,reflection, and community expression.
A pot is more than cookware—it’s a drum, a voice, a vessel of memory. Pots have long carried symbolic weight, producing sounds that resonate beyond the physical.
Across cultures and generations, they’ve been used in moments of protest, celebration, and survival—called into action when voices alone weren’t enough. In many places around the world, banging on pots has become a powerful symbol of resistance and solidarity—a way for communities to be heard when they had nothing left but noise.
By donating your pot, you’re contributing more than metal.You’re adding your voice to the collective rhythm, turning an ordinary object into an instrument of unity, expression, and creative reuse.