Musics of South Asia: a means for connecting communities?

The North East of England is home to numerous and diverse South Asian communities. These are defined by geographic origin (e.g. Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, and the many regions within these areas), religion, and other social and historical factors. Within these communities music often plays a key, but complex role. It is an activity around which individuals build networks, and a medium through which communities make their culture audible to themselves and the wider community. Music's significance, though, may be double edged. It can be a vehicle through which to reach out to other communities; equally it may be a way of turning inwards - a symptom of resistance to connection, or an assertion of difference.

Communities (South Asian, other minority ethnic, and white) can come into meaningful contact through music and other arts - but how is this fostered, beyond the occasional public event? How can both the local and global significance of such cultural forms be communicated and understood beyond their ethnic origins, and how might these shape new imaginings of a society of multiple - and possibly multiply connecting - cultures?

The scoping study proposed here seeks to review existing bodies of literature germane to these and other questions, from such fields as ethnomusicology, urban musicology, cultural studies and sociology. It also draws on the expertise of organisations that already have much practical experience in representing and supporting South Asian and other minority ethnic communities. These include arts development organisations such as Gem Arts, Kalapremi, and Saarang - Arts and Culture, which, alongside The Sage Gateshead, a further Project Partner, have substantial experience of community engagement.

With a view to an eventual larger, practically engaged project (in effect a piece of interactive fieldwork), this review aims to scope out some of the key issues and essential methodologies - both interrogating the existing scholarly and theoretical literature, and drawing on the significant practical experience of arts oranisations whose concern is with (or includes) South Asian music. Our key research questions include:

* In what ways do South Asian musics act as a vehicle for articulating identity and for fostering and connecting communities - including connections with 'majority ethnic' society? (Conversely, how might musical differences reinforce cultural ones?)

* How could this potential be further developed, and what role could arts organisations and educational institutions play in this? How can organisations better interface with one another?

* What is the impact of such factors as class, religion, gender, race, ethnicity, and histories of migration in shaping communities, and in both facilitating and impeding connection between them?

* To what extent can music (and other art forms) serve to cut across such factors (and to what it extent might it reinforce them)?

* How, in these contexts, should we understand such terms as 'network' and 'community', and how might the one strengthen the other?

*To what extent are answers to the above relevant to other minority ethnic communities, and to broader understandings of multiculturalism?

In this investigation we will collaborate with arts development organisations by means of structured interviews and workshops. We will share our various types of expertise with the intention of further developing strategies for impact on - or, perhaps better, agency with - communities and groups who seek greater cultural and social connectivity through music and other arts. Our outputs, in addition to the literature review, will include conference presentations, at least two peer reviewed articles, and an action plan for future engagement between our own HEI, communities and arts organisations.

Impact summary


WHO WILL BENEFIT FROM THIS RESEARCH?

* Arts organisations

* South Asian communities

* Society more widely

* Schools and school pupils


HOW WILL THEY BENEFIT FROM THIS RESEARCH?

Arts organisations will benefit from HE input, gaining more rigorous academic perspectives on their policy. Complementing this, the academy will benefit from improved engagement with organisations that have a strong track record of working with communities. Communities will benefit from improved connectedness between all the organisations. Importantly this will also strengthen connections between minority ethnic communities and the academy, helping to improve access to HE.

These improved connections will also foster public audibility of South Asian music making; give greater confidence to those making and promoting music, improve connections between music makers and audiences; and improve connections between different kinds of music makers.

Consultation with schools will help ascertain their needs in promoting understanding of musics of other cultures, hence increasing cultural understanding and well being more widely.


Mechanisms for achieving impact are discussed in the attached Pathways to Impact document.