About
The network's aim is to build collaborative and transdisciplinary research partnerships to help understand and overcome the many barriers that disabled people face in accessing music. This need arrives in the context of a decade of work by the OHMI Trust that has brought to issue to public attention and has since made many advances in its amelioration. Disabled people are currently under-represented in most areas of cultural life and are more likely to face discrimination in areas such as education, employment, and social mobility. In music-making, this underrepresentation can be caused by a number of issues including attitudinal and institutional barriers, a lack of suitable musical instruments which both meet disabled people's access needs, and allow full participation in musical life, exclusionary practices in music education, socially constructed barriers, health systems and public policy.
Furthermore, there is a relative absence of transdisciplinary collaboration and profound differences in language and discourse between fields of research and practice, which compounds this problem. The barriers to full participation in music-making for disabled people are therefore many and complex. One example is that research concerned with music and disability often runs counter to the values of disabled musicians. Overly medicalising an issue can be a product of society rather than embodied pathology. Another issue is that research undertaken by one discipline does not cross-over to another. This is illustrated by new practices in inclusive music education, not informing the design of adapted instruments, which could support musician development. This network recognises that pathways to solutions lie in exchanging knowledge and developing collaborations, which can be used to influence policy, lead to technological innovations, and encourage inclusive practices in education, health, industry and wider society. If these different disciplines do not come together, there is a danger that transdisciplinary notions of music and disability will remain under-theorised and misunderstood, resulting in continued musical segregation and exclusion for disabled people.
In response, this network will facilitate debate between fields that currently employ diverse methodologies, research purposes and outcomes in relation to disability and music. The network will bring together researchers from music education, instrumental science, music technology, psychology, medical and neurological sciences, as well as policy makers, funders, musicians, practitioners, and those working in the music sectors. We will host four multidisciplinary and multi-agency events. These will include roundtables; seminars; and a hackathon. The events will encourage discussion and debate regarding current research, issues, and factors of concern, and problematise practical solutions and innovations to re-think future methodological pathways, discourse, and technologies.
The network has six intentions:
Thank you for your interest in this important project. We hope that you will be able to particate in a variety of ways, through attendance at network meetings, our final conference in 2025 and through this website. We hope together we can make a meaningful difference by transcending disciplinary boundaries, sharing knowledge, and driving innovation in this field. We look forward to the fruitful discussions, partnerships, and developments that will emerge from our collective efforts.
Furthermore, there is a relative absence of transdisciplinary collaboration and profound differences in language and discourse between fields of research and practice, which compounds this problem. The barriers to full participation in music-making for disabled people are therefore many and complex. One example is that research concerned with music and disability often runs counter to the values of disabled musicians. Overly medicalising an issue can be a product of society rather than embodied pathology. Another issue is that research undertaken by one discipline does not cross-over to another. This is illustrated by new practices in inclusive music education, not informing the design of adapted instruments, which could support musician development. This network recognises that pathways to solutions lie in exchanging knowledge and developing collaborations, which can be used to influence policy, lead to technological innovations, and encourage inclusive practices in education, health, industry and wider society. If these different disciplines do not come together, there is a danger that transdisciplinary notions of music and disability will remain under-theorised and misunderstood, resulting in continued musical segregation and exclusion for disabled people.
In response, this network will facilitate debate between fields that currently employ diverse methodologies, research purposes and outcomes in relation to disability and music. The network will bring together researchers from music education, instrumental science, music technology, psychology, medical and neurological sciences, as well as policy makers, funders, musicians, practitioners, and those working in the music sectors. We will host four multidisciplinary and multi-agency events. These will include roundtables; seminars; and a hackathon. The events will encourage discussion and debate regarding current research, issues, and factors of concern, and problematise practical solutions and innovations to re-think future methodological pathways, discourse, and technologies.
The network has six intentions:
- To host four events for a transdisciplinary group of stakeholders researching music and disability.
- To investigate existing barriers to music participation from a transdisciplinary perspective and to open cross-sector dialogue and knowledge exchange between academics, funders, policy makers, health and education professionals, the cultural sector, music industry and a general audience.
- To develop new transdisciplinary understandings, theorisations and discourses surrounding music and disability.
- To explore and propose new methodologies for future research partnerships and grant applications.
- To disseminate the project findings in a variety of accessible formats to reach the widest audience.
- To support early career researchers through mentorship and invitation to become active members in the network.
Thank you for your interest in this important project. We hope that you will be able to particate in a variety of ways, through attendance at network meetings, our final conference in 2025 and through this website. We hope together we can make a meaningful difference by transcending disciplinary boundaries, sharing knowledge, and driving innovation in this field. We look forward to the fruitful discussions, partnerships, and developments that will emerge from our collective efforts.
