Several major projects fall into our music and communities research area, including an ongoing interaction with Indigenous culture through research, dedicated events, young artists' mentorship, and student projects.
Four successive Australian Research Council grants since 2007 have provided substantial support for Sound links (on community music in Australia), Redefining places for art, Sustainable futures for music cultures, and Captive audiences.
Redefining places for art
Redefining places for art has explored whether, how, why, and to what extent artists, administrators and audiences see the dynamics between place and performance as an essential aspect of twenty-first century performance experiences. Using the vibrant emerging cultural life of Queensland as its principle site of investigation, the project focused on six clusters of arts organisations, from 'flagship companies' to small regional arts initiatives. Important outcomes include an awareness of increasing desire among audiences to 'curate' their own experiences, the search among artists and administrators to negotiate between production values and flexibility, and the realisation that arts policies and funding may not yet fully reflect the current dynamic relationship between place and performance.
- Visit Redefining places for art for the full report
Captive audiences
Across the world, performing arts programs are increasingly recognised for their potential to enhance prisoner wellbeing and post-release outcomes. Captive audiences aims to provide a detailed picture of these programs in Australian prisons, and evaluate their impact on reducing conduct violations, acquiring positive life skills, addressing recidivism, and reducing the costs of imprisonment to society.
Tennant Creek project
As part of its commitment to engaging with Australian Indigenous culture, we are developing an ongoing relationship with Winanjji-kari Music Centre in Tennant Creek. For the third subsequent year, students will travel to remote Australia to work with local Indigenous musicians, at their request, on various recording and other community-based projects (of traditional and contemporary music). The project aims to assist local musicians in their efforts to develop, maintain and promote their music while increasing students' understanding of Indigenous culture and music practices.
Sustainable futures
Centring on in-depth studies from nine music cultures across the globe, Sustainable futures for music cultures: Towards an ecology of musical diversity aims to deliver a model to empower communities across the world to build musical futures on their own terms. Supported by the Australian Research Council, it is being realised on a budget of $5 million over five years in partnership with the International Music Council/UNESCO, the World Music and Dance Centre, the Music Council of Australia, and seven universities in Australia and abroad.
- Visit Sustainable futures for background information and case study reports.
Research team
- Huib Schippers (coordinator)
- Brydie-Leigh Bartleet
- Dan Bendrups
- Gerardo Dirie
- Gregg Howard
- Helen Lancaster
- Nicholas Ng
- Peter Roennfeldt
- Vanessa Tomlinson
- Donna Weston