SCECS FLEX

A blog which synthesises my findings after engaging with the theories, principles and case studies examined on the Sustainable Creative Endeavour in Contemporary Society module.

1) To what extent is it still relevant to define one’s musical ‘sphere of influence’ geographically given the connectivity of the internet?

It is still relevant to define one’s musical identity by attaching a placename to it in order to assert and sell a sound, ground a practice or delineate an audience. Funding bodies such as Creative Scotland and the British Council are embedding this kind of rhetoric more commonly within their offerings, therefore encouraging artists to take greater care in embracing tangible notions of place and heritage within their identity and practice. Though I would argue that sometimes geographical notions are taken and misused - becoming less about active character, or curious engagement and more about passive marketing, or merely maintaining the status quo. Therefore, I would advocate that what is even more relevant, valuable and empowering is in fact what you do with where you are from – what are your verbs and what are your actions of place, for place and by place rather than using and abusing said place to make a short to medium term gain. What to do with place is to share it rather than be suppressed by it. It is within this eco-centric and inclusive lens that the best kind of active artistic experience can be found. It is also within this philosophy that the best kind of artistry can be cultivated as the pillars of openness, compassion and unity can bring people together to make something new and undetermined. In this blog post, I would like to explore these ideas by introducing Scottish organisation Paragon Music’s current collaboration with Mexican organisation Armonia E Inclusion as a case study. I will share how they are actively sharing and acting upon their unique musical spheres of influence to connect internationally, blend sounds, make friends and share identities through the internet.

Firstly, it is important to recognise the brilliance of the internet in its ability to dynamically provide access to creative opportunities for cultural exchange, particularly for demographics and people who have been committed to labels of difference due to their disability, circumstances or place. It has also been a saving grace for people to receive social support during the global COVID-19 Pandemic - strengthening human relationships grounded on creative mutual interest and respect. The internet helps us ground an ‘alternative to regarding music genres or traditions as object.’ (Schippers, H. p3). This museum style rhetoric is exclusive and is defined by hierarchical notions of quality or prestige. This is arguably the foundation of a set of old artifactual adjectives concerning place that is reserved for a select few. Nowadays, in 2021, place is (or should be) emboldened by a collection of unique verbs from each person within it – ultimately meaning that creativity and ideas shall be validated by anyone and their differences when making. A sustainably minded human being in this world today can surely give way to this ambitious assertion and commit to a shift of mindset to facilitate the fundamental human need and desire to connect, share and blend together. The internet has, in radical ways over this past year, given us space for this to be implemented. Schippers and Grant recently reported:

…online environments have created massive exposure for certain music genres, with an impressive scope for forging niche markets and communities. The internet has obviously vastly changed the landscape of how music is disseminated and received, not only in the case of visible traditions (…) but also smaller ones. 
(Schippers, H. Grant, C. p5.)

In late 2020, Paragon Music partnered with Armonia E Inclusion in Mexico to create a digital international platform for disabled musicians to perform their own music with high production values. They received a grant from the British Council’s Digital Collaboration Fund to enable Paragon’s Stride band of young people aged 16-24 and Armonia’s ROCK DI band of young people aged 16-24 to create their own album of 10 songs that celebrates place and togetherness through music. Titled “Abrazos” (Spanish for “Hug” or “Embrace”) the album celebrates our unique musical locales and explores what we share in common. It is being created entirely via Zoom, WhatsApp and using file sharing sites such as Dropbox to share content and ideas. Below is a screenshot from the planning stage of the process which denotes some of the key decisions being investigated.

Stride/Rock DI Collaboration planning stage!

Stride/Rock DI Collaboration planning stage!

The project has begun in earnest and below is an early example of a demo collaborative track put together by both groups. All Over The World is a track that celebrates navigating, exploring and experiencing a new world after choosing to run away from the old. It does indeed draw upon Scottish and Mexican spheres of influence but what is more notable is how the groups are working together to make something new with them, co-creating what Tim Rice names as ‘a more vigorous discipline.’ (Rice, T. p324).

Language, feel and timbre all suggest uniqueness of musical spheres throughout the track, but are celebrated as part of the whole which is a relatively ground-breaking notion within this inclusive music context. This is not a battle of the bands or a competitive arena that upholds and gives way to old habits of prestige - this is an international coming together which embraces engagement and collaborative opportunity. This certainly is an example of an ‘ethical and mutually beneficial collaboration’ (Schippers, H. 2016.) of various forces working sustainability across cultures, qualifying their otherness and celebrating their togetherness. Here is another clip of Ruairidh, a participant from Stride speaking about the collaboration.

Music does not want to go back to the pre-pandemic status quo. Nor does the inclusive arts sector and nor do I! Asserting the internet as a place leveller and a human connector which can remove barriers and hierarchies as I have hopefully demonstrated via the Stride and Rock DI collaboration, there is much to embrace together. Academic Tom Shakespeare continues this notion:

People with disabilities do not want a return to the pre-pandemic status quo, which was a world filled with complex barriers to inclusion, especially in low-income and middle-income countries. The COVID-19 pandemic has increased risks, compounded unmet health needs, and disproportionately affected the socioeconomic lives of people with disabilities around the world. As evidence evolves, strategic thinking is needed about how society, social inclusion, and public health can better reach the 15% of the global population who are disabled. The inclusion of people with disabilities in the COVID-19 response should be remembered throughout all post-recovery stages by assessing their needs and ensuring that they are consulted and can participate in policy development, programme design, and implementation. A better future has to grow from learning the lessons, listening to the life experiences of people with disabilities, and making meaningful investments that improve the wellbeing and socioeconomic conditions of people with disabilities. (Shakespeare, T. p1332).

Music is a sharing and there is nothing more human or relevant than that. Embracing the notion of sharing a place and its quirks can offer far more sustainable spheres of output and can provide a rich platform for influencing collaboration near and far, progressing the job of the five domains of sustainability:

Thinking about the 5 domains of sustainability…

Thinking about the 5 domains of sustainability…

The Five Domains were discussed in detail within the SCECS VC class. I proposed that a domain named “Health and Wellbeing” might be missing from this list in the chat box, which gained a positive response:

SCECS Thoughts Wk 2.png

Lucy’s reflection illuminates the lack of the Health and Wellbeing formal conversations that are necessary for a sustainable venture in this context. Is this because for too long, we have been treating musical interactions and interventions as artefactual processes of preserving a tradition or set of ideals? This type of linear, exclusive thinking I would argue makes for a stressful, anxiety inducing context. We need to advocate for creativity and making and treading new ground to activate and energise the context and to lead to greater sustainable pastures. Sara Wolcott summarises this well in her paper “The Role of Music in the Transition Towards a Culture of Sustainability” and below are some key points, validating the process Stride and Rock DI have undertaken.

To create sustainable culture, CREATE!!

To create sustainable culture, CREATE!!

To conclude my perspectives, I would like to assert the need to continue to share our influential spheres, identities and geographies to actually practice sustainability on a neutralised, online space:

We are reminded that we’re joined together by our pursuit of a life that’s productive and purposeful, and when that happens mistrust begins to fade and our smaller differences no longer overshadow the things that we share. And that’s where progress begins. 
(Obama, B. p247).

Reference List:

2) What lessons and conclusions can we draw from the impact that the Covid 19 pandemic has had on the musical ecosystem?

All sorts of lessons and conclusions can be drawn from the impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on the music industry. Below are two drawings that I believe summarise and conclude that the music industry needs to grow stronger and that by planting new seeds of sustainability, we will embolden and nurture the following contexts in which musicians practice:

Performance
Platforms
Partnerships
Pedagogy

1) The Old Ways are Unsustainable!

1) The Old Ways are Unsustainable!

2) We need to be brave and plant new seeds!

2) We need to be brave and plant new seeds!

In this blog post I will explore how the old ways are not fit for purpose and that we need to literally and metaphorically plant new seeds to enable and encourage us to grow into a truly sustainable industry. I will be drawing from the MA MATE Debate event that was successfully facilitated on With that in mind, it is important to define the term strength. Personally, I would suggest the following entry points:

Withstanding force
A resilient attitude
Booming revenue
Capacity for endurance

Arguably, strength is most accurately determined as overcoming resistance and through that process, the acquisition of the aesthetics and qualities to function with resolve. More importantly – to acquire strength or become stronger suggests moving from one state to another – to move through something, to become better for it – but we also need to note the necessity for that process, in order to engage with it. This is important when considering the music industry and the effects COVID 19 has had on it – it has been a sizeable knock back, a considerable moment of reflection on what wasn’t working, allowing us to consider how to move forward, to reimagine our collective futures in a progressive, innovative and more connected manner. It has highlighted the need to engage in this strengthening process.

I think that the music industry will grow stronger after the COVID 19 pandemic restrictions come to an end. It has allowed us to see what needs improved and the possibility of connecting with one another has become greater than ever.  

I will focus my thoughts by using the 4 P’s:

  1. Performance

  2. Partnerships

  3. Platforms

  4. Pedagogy

All four of these P-words frame the positive foundation for innovation and reconnection that will ultimately enable the industry to strengthen.

Performance:

When considering performance, I like to think of quality of artistry and quality of context for live music. Both I feel have been in varying degrees of decline, with the latter being severely affected due to the COVID-19 context. Due to the restrictions on mass gatherings and rules on social distancing, the live sector had been shut down since mid-March in a move which UK Music estimates will wipe “at least £900 million from the sector’s expected £1.1 billion contribution to the economy this year.” (The Guardian, 2021).

Though, speaking anecdotally from my own experience, I think those that have managed to seize this time as an opportunity to take matters into their own hands and embrace the performativity of Live Streaming! I gave it a shot a year ago, presenting David Gray’s seminal White Ladder album from my living room, steeply learning how to navigate a multi-camera set up, poor internet connection and using a PayPal link to generate income:

I made the same amount as I would have at an event out in Glasgow - £150 - through donations and tips and had far less overheads to compete with. It is an attractive offer to run an event from a home environment which still engages with an audience, albeit a potentially much wider reaching one! For someone like me who sometimes finds the stage environment rather anxiety inducing, this was a welcome change of scene. The home can become a quality environment for a sharing of quality output. We have seen artists across the globe embrace this context, including some of my favourite musicians like Olafur Arnalds, James Blake, Jacob Collier and Coldplay.

The quality of artistry on display has been a question that has and will continue to exist for generations. What has been refreshing to see is the guards that have dropped and seeing artists make use of what they have to make their content properly authentic - at home, at rest, at ease. This had at the very first lockdown, leveled the playing field to some degree and reduced the necessity and the seduction of spectacle. This brings into sharp focus the question of quality - what is good and who gets to decide? According to the informative YouTube video “Why is Modern Music So Awful” most of current pop music’s timbral palette has been homogenized which is a fascinating proposition in my opinion. This subjectively suggests that the music of our modern times has drastically declined in quality of art to quality of production speed. It compares Robin Thicke’s “Blurred Lines” to the Beatles masterpiece “A Day In The Life” representing the suggested decline in quality by comparing quantity of instruments, time and money as well as timbral colour and lyrical content. I agree to some extent, but I also think that what is so brilliant about the climate for music we are navigating within just now is that everyone has much more ease of access to engaging, learning and performing music that was once an exclusive right held for those who propped up the music industries of the past - big record companies and executives making decisions about what is good and what is not. Nowadays, we all have far greater autonomy and choice as well as platforms to put our own music out there which is in my opinion, a welcome and necessary strengthening pillar that the industry is desperate for. New voices, new ideas, new performances.

As an aside, Paragon Music made a cover of as part of their “Day In The Life” YouTube Livestream, one of many performances the inclusive music and dance organisation have managed to showcase during the pandemic. Interestingly, audience numbers have increased by at least 100% and participation in the online events are now arguably even more accessible via the chat box section - is this the future? Current conversations seem to be that hybrid performance events will be the norm come 2030 according to Forbes.

Partnerships:

I would describe a partnership as a connection, an exchange or a strong sense of togetherness. I’m going to introduce a thought about a new, internal partnership within ourselves – about how we value our practices and build resilience – and why this is important, as well one about external partnerships with digital platforms that can help us connect in new tangible ways.

The internal partnership:

Musicians have had to internally reimagine their relationship to their instrument, practice and focus over the past year. That internal conversation has had lots of different consequences and benefits. In an athletic context, German sports psychologist Hans Eberspächer (1990) describes the importance of using a Question of essence to manifest focus. Something like “what am I doing here?” I think over the course of the pandemic, we have all been asking new questions of essence: 

What do I have to offer? Am I enough? What now?

As an independent singer-songwriter, these questions were not unfamiliar to me. Though, my actions in this new context were met with a sense of robustness and vulnerability – a desire to reframe what kind of community I aspire to be a part of. I’ve had enough of the noise of the cliques from before and was able to realise how disenfranchising they can ultimately be. The cool of 2019 is no longer cool now. Being cool has always been so boring to me, so why was this the aspiration for so many? Before, in my context, partnering was about feeling the need to compromise in order to be cool – about giving it all away and thinking that was the norm - but now, I think partnering is more about ownership and having the confidence to do it on your own terms and be fulfilled with less. That’s the kind of ecological focus we need to manifest right now and into the future.

The external partnership

Musicians have also had to partner with digital platforms and spaces to share their artform, make a living and continue their own personal enquiries. Predictions that online platforms could grow to capture 1.2 billion users by 2030 make it an ever more dynamic focus for musicians to engage with. (Meredith, S. 2020) For musicians who used to rely on touring as a dominant part of their income, the pandemic has had a hugely negative effect on their finances since they can no longer play face-to-face shows. 

Throughout 2020, the power of live video was revealed - employing a converge between traditional live gigs, screen media and new media technologies, inspiring a lot of musicians to establish new external partnerships to continue their creative exchange. This concept isn’t entirely new but partnerships with platforms and new ways to communicate with audiences have meant new content, new ideas, new connections. Livestreaming trailblazer Twitch has seen 300% audience growth in some categories, and the overall industry had 45% growth in hours watched just between March and April 2020. Live Nation President and CEO Michael Rapino has said: “Livestreaming is a great complement to our core business and essentially gives any show an unlimited capacity.” The promoter partnered with Verizon to deploy 5G connections within 15 well-known venues, including the Wiltern in Los Angeles, the Fillmore in Miami and Irving Plaza in New York City. Viewer control over multiple camera angles will provide:

...a whole new way of experiencing music and watching performances both live and on-screen. As live music comes back, we will be ready to help make it better than ever.(Rapino, M. 2021)

Platforms:

Platforms are the biggest context that I feel need strengthening. I offer two platforms here for discussion - Streaming Platforms and Support Platforms for Musicians. Our streaming platforms are at the beck and call of most of us to provide our daily musical fixes. We subscribe to their simplicity and their digital databases but the revenue streams are much shallower for the artist to make a living. However, the COVID-19 has pushed some platforms like Bandcamp to introduce a far fairer offer:

Paper.MA_Sketches.16.png

I would advocate for streaming platforms to follow Bandcamp’s lead to instigate a top down wholesale change. The UK-based #BrokenRecord campaign has been agitating on the issue of musicians’ streaming royalties for several months. Now it has published the results of a survey of 2,069 British adults, weighted to be representative of the population, about the topic:

No wonder mental health is such a topical discussion point within this context when it is such a financially precarious context to endorse a livelihood. With this in mind, we need to ensure that Support Platforms are safeguarded for musicians. Today on Instagram, I came across this post from popular new music DJ Jim Gellatly who shared the following:

IMG_4830.jpg

This type of visibility is of paramount importance. The COVID-19 pandemic introduced a myriad of issues as the fragility of the cultural sector for most freelancers was exposed unambiguously. Many colleagues of mine were thinking about leaving the sector. Musicians’ mental health challenges are broadly presented in two key ways:

  1. employment related anxieties concerning loss of income, how their work was being treated vis-à-vis self-employed income support, and fears about their futures.

  2. status-based existential anxiety relating to a loss of meaning in their lives.

This was somewhat illuminated during a Scottish Parliamentary debate in November 2020 on the impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on musicians. MSP Pauline McNeill highlighted the precarity of musicians’ livelihoods and gave the following statement from 23.15:


Paragon Music also introduced a Wellness Action Plan (modelled on the Mind template) for every practitioner to complete. The enforced social distancing and frustration of being in lockdown became an opportunity for Paragon to be empathetic towards its practitioner’s own mental health and wellbeing, and they could do to promote a supportive culture for everyone. Wellness action plans are another demonstration of sustainability - a proficient way of identifying what supports each practitioner’s mental health at work, and any situations which could trigger poor mental health. The purpose of the WAP is to begin a conversation about what works for practitioners and what additional strategies or supports that could be put in place. It has nothing to do with suitability for work, in fact it is the complete opposite. It is a way for Paragon to ensure that all its staff maintain good mental health and wellbeing at work, and by doing so are better able to give participants the best experience in workshops and performances. We need to embed this culture far more in the musical contexts ahead of us in the future to better safeguard the sector.

Pedagogy:

I would like to offer the following brief list of conclusions that can be drawn upon that can continue to propagated and tended to within our musical ecosystem. Our debate team devised the following points:

  • The technological skills gained during pandemic can promote students’ autonomy and help them gain more confidence in the use of technologies so they can benefit from the diversity of digital creative tools available, like music sequencers, music notation softwares and video editing softwares.

  • There has been an emergence of online educational material both for teachers and students shared by music teaching professionals that of course can still be used after all music teaching resumes face to face (music lessons ideas at home for parents and their children, teaching methods and ideas for primary and secondary education, online tools for music education, remote collaboration tools, ideas for alternative assessment and tutorials and education games aimed at students). All this material can inevitably inspire the curiosity in both teachers and students and allow them to discover new ways of teaching and new ideas of creating music.

  • Distance learning is a helpful tool and should not be dismissed after lessons resume face to face. It could be used in a variety of settings where the students cannot physically attend the class due to sickness, disability, transportation means and weather conditions.

  • Self-directed learning has given students more independence and initiative in terms of their creative practice while also helping them to remain resilient in the face of challenges and obstacles.

In Summary:

  1. Performance: 
    How to galvanise the opportunities of this new context - questions of quality of context and quality of artistry.

  2. Platforms:
    The need to bolster the strength of Streaming Platforms to enable artists to have a more equitable source of income and Support Platforms like Help Musicians Music Mind’s Matter services.

  3. Partnerships:
    The importance of re-establishing internal and external partnerships to give a new flow and momentum to musicians’ practices.

  4. Pedagogy:
    All that we have learned during lockdown and all of these skills we have found we can re-use in a musical post-lockdown life.

To conclude, I would like to offer David Whyte’s definition of robustness which I believe captures my core through-line well:

Robustness strangely demands that we find a calm centre in the midst of tumult. The quiet is what enables us to be cheerful in noise, equitable in the face of injustice or calm in the face of attack.(…) When our physical presence frays, another form of internal presence must be found, another robustness to take us through.
(Whyte, D. 2014)

References:

3) What is the performance, policy, and funding landscape within the inclusive practice context? How has this changed over the last 10 years and how will you adapt to future developments?

Introduction:
10 years ago, the UK Government introduced The Equality Act 2010. The aim of this state policy was to combine several pieces of legislation that were covering discrimination together and embolden and make the law that legally protects people from discrimination in the workplace and in wider society easier to understand. It also arguably strengthened people’s protection in some situations. Over the course of the last decade, the inclusive arts practice context has greatly benefitted from the clarity and transparency this law has offered and a great swathe of changes have been implemented since its instigation. In this blog post I will explore the performance, policy and funding landscape within the inclusive practice context and throughout, I will comment on how it has changed. I will suggest some offerings that could help the context continue to adapt and thrive sustainably.

Performance:
I will share my knowledge of choreographer Caroline Bowditch who was Scottish Dance Theatre’s Dance Agent for Change in the early 2010’s who I believe set a precedent for others to follow in the dissemination of a sustainable, inclusive performative culture. One of the main impacts was her catalytic imprint on Dance Education - engaging, informing and encouraging staff and students in the field to participate in new ways of thinking about inclusive professional practice. In a previous life, I was a collaborator of Caroline’s for a number of years composing music for many of her dance and performance projects and was always supremely taken aback by the welcoming, safe but charged environment she was able to muster and implement during creative processes. Here is an example of one of her works for babies called “Snigel and Friends” - a music and dance performance for under ones about a curious snail looking for bubbles:

This is one of extremely few performances made for babies that features disabled bodies in the performance space. In other contexts, for instance the recent Scottish Election saw Labour MSP Pam Duncan-Glancy become the first wheelchair user elected to Holyrood, continuing to increase the visibility of non-normative bodies in every space. She speaks about why this shouldn’t be a surprise in 2021:

And it shouldn't. That's one of the reasons why I have always been involved in politics. It's why I'm an activist. It's why I believe in equality and human rights. I will speak up for disabled people's human rights.
(Duncan-Glancy, P. 2021).

This makes me think about how much concepts of Universal Design should and could be celebrated far more within the context to ensure inclusive thinking. The original concept of universal design was created by architect and industrial designer, and wheelchair user, Ronald Mace and its principles were pioneered in dance and performance by Jürg Koch at the University of Washington, Seattle. Instead of a disability specific approach of ‘adapting’ movement to suit individuals, this approach allows everyone to work with the same principles and use them in a way that works for them and allows them to push themselves. These include the following:

7 Principles of Universal Design.

7 Principles of Universal Design.

This chimes well with former Paragon participant Bernie Hunter, who blogged about these sentiments recently through Cerebral Palsy Scotland and mentioned:

I never thought that I would be a dancer due to having Cerebral Palsy with my movements and being in a wheelchair but anything is possible. Everyone was welcomed into the workshop, it was very inclusive- the group didn’t see disability and as a teenager, that really helped me.(Hunter, B. 2021).

This conscious “un-seeing” of the limitations and prejudices of disability is something that Paragon has been implementing for many years - focusing on people’s own abilities as a musician first. This sentiment was captured by a Social Value Lab observer during an impact report, who reflected the following:

Screenshot 2021-05-11 at 16.05.10.png

This equal and inclusive mindset illuminated by the observer was also showcased in Paragon’s 2017 promotional video below which highlights the important sustainable and developmental outcomes that are sought. From confidence to self-determination, from socialisation to learning new skills in a safe and fun environment, the video manifests the qualities of this approach:

The notion of a “positive influence” throughout peoples life journeys is something that I find really interesting. Following Creative Scotland’s 2017 Arts and Diversity Survey, their conclusions are relatively striking with regards to people who identify as disabled who are seeking to develop a career in the arts sector:

The findings of this report indicate that career progression in the arts is far from a level playing field. Some groups face real and significant barriers to career progression in the sector… Lack of connections, social structures and networks also feature highly as a barrier with many mentioning the importance of informal networks in securing work or getting noticed.
(Creative Scotland, 2017).

Paragon aims to address this barrier within their mentoring programme “Horizons” which is funded by The Robertson Trust. People with additional support needs face many barriers to pursuing their aspirations, accessing training and education opportunities and chiefly gaining paid employment, despite the tone of the legislation introduced in 2010. Paragon creates pathways for people to pursue a fulfilling life in the arts, supporting people on a one to one basis to identify and work towards their creative ambitions. We work with many people who have experienced severe discrimination, inequity and trauma and create an environment that is free from discrimination, where people can explore and express their emotions and experiences through creativity. We have seen the transformative effect music and the arts has on people’s self-confidence, motivation and overall wellbeing. Paragon’s work on poverty and trauma is preventative in that we aim to create improved pathways, future opportunities and supportive environments in which people can flourish.

As of late 2020, this Act is the prominent piece of legislature that Creative Scotland implore organisations to embed within their practices sector wide. In their White Paper titled Seven Inclusive Principles for Arts & Cultural Organisations their first point reads:

All organisational activities must comply with the requirements of The Equality Act (2010) and make reasonable adjustments to operating practice that ensure disabled people are not unlawfully discriminated against.
(Creative Scotland, 2020).

Clearly, it is feasible to conclude that a lot of work still needs to be done to continue to break down the barriers that still exist for people who identify as having a disability or an additional support need.

Funding Landscape and its changes:

Post London 2012 Olympics, the spotlight on disabled athletes and sports personnel became more prevalent as the Paralympic Games especially gave a greater focus to the context. (It did, however, take the public a bit of time to leave behind patronising terminologies and behaviours that can be imposed upon the context, treating disabled people as objects of inspiration rather than people). Though, one of the things to come about from the Games’ success was the Unlimited funding scheme. Unlimited was created as part of the Cultural Olympiad linked to the London Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2012, with involvement from all of the UK arts councils and the British Council. According to their website, they share that:

Since 2013, Unlimited has awarded more than £4.7 million to over 400 ambitious disabled artists and companies, through commissions, awards and support, which have been seen by or engaged with more than 3.8 million people globally and online, making it the largest supporter of disabled artists worldwide.
(Unlimited, 2021).

This is a really bold claim - “the largest supporter of disabled artists worldwide.” How does this affect those at grassroots level, though? Many people who engage with Paragon are disenfranchised and of low income and don’t have the equipment, technology or resources to take part online and people involved in Paragon’s programmes have had their statutory support reduced during the Covid-19 pandemic, meaning they do not have sufficient care support hours to engage with the programmes they would like to. I think that funders in the future like Unlimited will need to provide extra support directly for young people with additional support needs at transitions age to plan their next steps and understand what opportunities are available to them in the arts.

Offers for the future:

I would like to see far less tokenistic gestures from mainstream educational organisations and arts companies that prop up their own in the name of inclusion and accessibility, to pave the way for better and more frequent opportunities for young people who identify as disabled to have an equitable and resilient platform for their work to be seen, shared, promoted, critiqued and engaged with. I would like to advocate for the inclusion of Universal Design principles far more readily within our institutions and for a rebranding of the words “quality” and “excellence” so that they are able to move away from connotations of prestige and towards denotations of difference, celebrating everyone’s own unique ideas. I would suggest:

  1. More inclusive approaches to music and dance in secondary and higher education that embraces difference, and gives opportunities to those underrepresented in the arts to gain entry to the arts world.

  2. An arts sector which is more diverse and enriched by the experiences and creative contributions of people from different backgrounds.

  3. More people with additional support needs in key roles in the arts world and in the public eye, including those from the D/deaf community, disabled people, and neurodiverse people.

  4. More influence from people in these communities leading to less ableist thinking in the arts world.

To conclude this blog post, I would like to offer two videos that demonstrate how we can continue to develop the context for the future. The first is a selection of clips taken from different moments of inclusive practice training I facilitated with a participant called Ruairidh which offers an enquiry lens into how we can sustain the culture through sharing information in a holistic manner:

The second offer is the type of performance that I would urge us to make even more visible. This is a piece from Paragon participant Eilidh McGrath. I collaborated with her and her Paragon Horizons Mentor Alex McCabe to edit the soundtrack to her dance performance which criticises the SQA and their culture of exclusivity:

The final offer would be the importance of adapting and developing our practices to bring about much more awareness towards our mental wellbeing. A colleague of mine Dr Gameli Tordzro speaks below about the benefits that musical connection can bring with regards to the Mindful Drumming workshop that we facilitate.

References:

4) Looking ahead - a gap in Inclusive Practice Training for young people and how this can be addressed!

Throughout the SCECS Module, the through lines of interconnectedness, sustainability and ecology have brought into sharp focus how I might arrive at my future practice as a singer/songwriter and how I might offer my skills, talents and generosity. I recognise that I am becoming less and less interested in an ego-centric performance practice that drives my creative output to generate income and assert myself as an artist. In hindsight, I have often found the context for this boring, stale, banal and not very sustainable at all – loopholes, exploitation and very unglamourous behind an Instagram sheen. This view has also largely been built by the intoxicating amount of ego that I have had to consume, embody, witness and quite frankly grumpily avoid, which has exhausted me to the point of change. Over the past few years I have been involved in a lot of performance projects, have toured internationally and have had my compositions and work played at various venues locally and nationally. I now find myself letting go of the desire to return to that context altogether. The essential question I have slowly been proposing to myself over the past few months is: to whom does this serve? As I look ahead, I challenge the notion of more (touring, travelling, selling) by replacing it with the non-pejorative and fulfilling aspects of what less could bring. This is a sobering but extremely important line of enquiry to uphold because now more than ever, our industry’s unique and fundamental place depends on it. I want to challenge the glammed up linear systems that disguise vulnerability, usurp pureness and chuckle at the words like eco-centrism within the music industry and its haughty and aloof hyper-reality and start to propose a list of achievable pathways that revolve around a circular model of practice – one that can unsettle and disrupt what it means to be successful and all of its fascinating, different, small but mighty versions.

I began a new job at the start of 2021 with inclusive music and dance organisation, Paragon Music. I am their SAMPLE Coordinator. It is my job to coordinate a new mentoring programme for young people aged between 14-18 who identify as having additional support needs or barriers to participation. It provides access to 6-months of person centred and person lead arts experiences which can give way to what a career in the industry might look like after school. It promotes the prospect that there is indeed a creative alternative for people and that a livelihood in the creative industries is a viable option. Here is the leaflet that I helped designed:

SAMPLE - Paragon Music .jpg
SAMPLE - Paragon Music P 2.jpg

Sustainability is about togetherness and also about looking forward. By leading the way in adopting good sustainable arts practices, a programme like SAMPLE will no doubt influence the community of young people it serves to aspire towards different, exciting and truly ground-breaking pathways. Paragon sustain this by offering the next step in mentoring with its in-house Horizons programme which is one of any pathways following the initial 6-month process on SAMPLE.

Paragon Co-Pilot

I would like to pitch a new Paragon programme called Co-Pilot which would provide a leadership opportunity to young people who would like to be framed as an emerging inclusive practitioner. This would be a 3-to-6-month opportunity for emerging inclusive practitioners who have come through the programmes and have a keen interest in experiencing what it’s like to be a practitioner but without the full Train and Play experience that Paragon currently offers to those who’d like to undergo practitioner training. It would be a step before this, essentially, for people who have been taking part in the workshops and have the desire to take the lead and test out their leadership ideas in a safe space. This would be a value based, person centred pedagogical initiative that gives people the chance to imagine a way forward.

I think this opportunity could tie together some of the experiences Paragon have currently been offering some people recently. We have tried out a micro-training last summer with one participant and another has been experiencing more of a group rep role recently. Paragon have also tailored a specific mentoring package for a mentee as they prepare themselves for the full Train and Play practitioner training. I think all of these are great examples of what this kind of programme could do to support people’s future aspirations and act as a supportive stepping stone pre-Train and Play or, for people to take part in further career development after the opportunity comes to an end. 

It could mean that we always include a Co-Pilot Practitioner with us in the sessions, who are, to use a mentee’s phrase, "learning as they are doing" with conscious support from the Paragon Practitioners involved. It may also mean that people are entitled to a fee which I think is a very welcome prospect for people as they build their work experience following school, college or otherwise and get to feel valued for their efforts. This would also address some of the concerns that were summarised in Creative Scotland’s Arts and Diversity Summary which I explored in the previous post. It perhaps isn’t an internship, but more of a tailored apprenticeship that could qualify Paragon’s role as place for anyone to truly develop their practice - in performance, socialisation and practitioner-ship!

Funding opportunities for this type of venture are becoming more visible. Future evolutions of the Co-Pilot programme throughout this year could potentially sync up with the government’s Kickstart Scheme, providing organisations the opportunity to employ more young people into their organisation:

The Kickstart Scheme provides funding to create new jobs for 16 to 24 year olds on Universal Credit who are at risk of long term unemployment. Employers of all sizes can apply for funding which covers:
- 100% of the National Minimum Wage (or the National Living Wage depending on the age of the participant) for 25 hours per week for a total of 6 months
- associated employer National Insurance contributions
- any relevant workplace pension contributions (automatic enrolment)(UK Government, 2021).

Other arts based organisations are starting to get on board with this Government funding policy such as 432 Events who have advertised a number of exciting new positions via their social media pages in conjunction with the Kickstart Scheme. Positions include

Assistant Promoter
Assistant to the Director
Marketing Officer
Community Engagement Officer
Funding Officer

It is important to differentiate these titles at face value with some of those Paragon have used in the past for young people interning or doing a college or school placement as a comparison:

Assistant Drum Tutor
Digital Development Assistant
Social Media Guru
Communications Intern
Dance Advocate

There certainly is an offer to be made more readily in response to the current context we are located within. A partner organisation of Paragon’s, Dumfries and Galloway Dance, have recently also devised Dance Advocates , which is a paid 6 month development programme (£75 per week) made up of local leaders aged 18-25 who are interested in pursuing careers in the performing arts. According to their site:

The programme explores progression routes into the arts sector, helping young leaders to advance into further training or pursue their own creative work.(D&G Dance, 2021)

This is the sentiment I wish to explore and engage with as I propose my own idea. So, with these thoughts in mind, here is my fledgling business plan to accompany this initial pitch. In order to see each page in better quality, click on each image to open it up on another page:

Pilot Business Plan Page 1

Pilot Business Plan Page 1

Pilot Business Plan Page 2

Pilot Business Plan Page 2

One political difficulty I am encountering is that the Kickstart Scheme policy concept can be interpreted as a means to achieve ‘more for less.’ As Catherine Needham summarises in her paper, “Personalization: From Story-Line to Practice:” 

through market efficiencies shaped by a political discourse of neoliberalism (Ferguson 2007; Lymbery 2014); and be no more than a cover for austerity and cost cutting (Needham 2020).

I will continue to be mindful of this when considering what language I choose when framing this kind of opportunity and be sure to remain faithful to Paragon’s Iconic Advantage that embodies socialisation and inclusion as core sustainable competencies.

In this age of accessible digital platforms that are enabling more and more people to be brought together, one thing that I need to be mindful of is the notion of meaning rather than bombardment when proposing this kind of programme. More than ever, the mirage of being popular can disguise quality and consequently promote mediocrity. Anecdotally, this seems to underpin some of the desires of young people who I engaged with at my last in-person project pre-COVID, whereby the young people taking with the exception of one expressed a desire to work towards becoming:

  1. An Influencer

  2. A YouTuber

  3. Famous

Theodore Adorno critiques this very notion in his “theory of pseudo-culture” a segment of which I have offered below from Robert Witkin’s book “Adorno on Popular Culture”:

Screenshot 2021-05-03 at 21.59.51.png

Complimentary to this perspective, the notion of seduction becomes paramount. The mediated world we are saturated within 

We live in a world where there is more and more information, and less and less meaning.
(Baudrillard, 1994).

French philosopher Jean Baudrillard is known for his theories regarding our postmodern society. In the 1980’s and the 1990’s in particular, he became fascinated by how the growth of the media has affected our perception of reality, and of the world. He concludes that currently we are experiencing “The Death of the Real” – that we are living in a society dominated by hyper real semiotics; connecting more and more deeply to things that merely simulate reality, instead of connecting to reality itself. The concept of hyper reality and its colourful simulated distractions has become more overriding in our society and is trampling on the very necessary need to tune into our human necessities. The growth and availability of social media has certainly affected young peoples’ perceptions of reality more and what a sustainable career pathway might look like - even within a field such as the arts, where so often “making it” is the capitalist mist. In his essay, “The Hyper-Realism of Simulation” with his book Simulacra and Simulation (The Body in Theory: Histories of Cultural Materialism), Jean Baudrillard claims that the increase of signs and symbols in the media have become so frequent in our culture that: 

(…) reality itself, as something separable from signs of it… vanished in the information-saturated, media-dominated contemporary world. (Baudrillard, 1994).

In addition to my previous point, Baudrillard suggests that there is a reason why we have a deep connection with the media. To briefly elaborate, his essay, “The Ecstasy of Communication” discusses how the media has a seductive power, and he suggests that we surrender ourselves to the luminous eye of the screen. Online Social Networking websites and video games are perfect examples of such spaces of surrender. Following the seduction, comes a false sense of security. This is the context that I fear a lot of the young people of today are up against and one that I hope my proposed Co-Pilot programme can aim to dispel in an attempt to re-affirm what it means to be prosperous as an artist. A recent statement in The Economist reminds us of how the current COVID-19 context has informed our gaze into these uncertainties, connecting it with the very real and concurrent climate conversation:

Covid-19 has demonstrated that the foundations of prosperity are precarious. Disasters long talked about, and long ignored, can come upon you with no warning, turning life inside out and shaking all that seemed stable.
(The Economist, 2020) 

To conclude this blog, we absolutely have to safeguard a brighter future for the music industry and crucially, for our youth. I believe that the best place to start is with our young people and I’d like to think that my new role with Paragon Music can offer me that chance to set a precedent as I look to develop the new Pilot programme I have devised. I recognise a simmering, seething, anti-discrimination activism that is brewing within me. This is a pro-inclusion perspective that is eco-centric to the core. The planet can no longer support our consumption levels or current linear approaches to performance, production or economic practice within this context and it is time to get our act together with haste. I am concerned at how seductively false notions of success appear through the guise of the media in any form and we must dispel that kind of exclusivity. I wish that the offer I am proposing invites more and more young people to embrace the prospects of a circular, fun and efficacious pathway into the future, giving them a platform to thrive and shine.

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