Working alongside Auckland’s Establish Music, Frances Dickinson is hosting the Music Accessibility Workshop Series, with events in our three biggest cities, plus online via Zoom, during November – kicking off in Tāmaki Makaurau on November 5.

The workshops are planned to be relaxed and interactive, giving participants time to discuss current approaches to accessibility and to workshop ideas through a co-design session. Frances answered a few questions to help us all get our heads around what ‘music accessibility’ (or rather the lack of it) actually means.

Has there been a framework for accessibility in NZ music before, and if not why do you think that is?

Not as far as I’m aware! I think that as a community, we have been actively raising our awareness around diversity and inclusion over the last few years, so it seemed like the perfect timing to do some work around access solutions for disabled music practitioners. Having the support of the NZ Music Commission Capability Grants Scheme was also critical to making this project happen, I’m not sure how easy it would be to run a project like this without such amazing funding support!

What inspired your own involvement?

I have first-hand experience (as a neurodiverse music practitioner) of navigating processes and events within the music industry while managing my own access needs. At times its been really hard, so my hope is that the Access All Areas project will bring attention to the fact that there are a variety of incredible individuals who make up our music community, and also raise awareness about the types of supports and accomodations that will make it a more inclusive place to work and play.

Can you highlight three key points of your framework as it currently sits?

Sure – the framework promotes three main approaches for creating accessibility:

1. Acknowledge – the unique value of each individual and their right to participate in the music community in a meaningful and mana-enhancing way.
2. Connect – with disabled music practitioners to listen to their needs, recognise their expertise and their ability to guide future decision-making on accessible approaches.
3. Create – universally accessible spaces and opportunities for all music practitioners by working together as a community.

What’s your strategy to encourage as many people as possible to care and help with a positive change?

I think one of the fundamental changes I’d love to see is the music industry as a whole, is the reframing of what ‘accessibility’ means, and who it is for.

In 2016 the MusicHelps Wellbeing Survey reported that 45% of music practitioners indicated that they had an impairment that affected their daily life, and nearly 85% of music practitioners reported struggling with mental well-being at one stage or another. So there is actually a huge amount of musicians who have health issues that affect their ability to have successful and sustainable careers.

Most of us are going to need help and support at some stage in our careers to continue working and contributing to the music community, and with one in four New Zealanders identifying as having a disability I think it’s likely that we all know someone who is affected by disability or illness, and I’m hoping Access All Areas will raise people’s awareness of that.

Can you talk about say one participant in the project who could have benefitted from improved accessibility in their career?

We had such an incredible diverse group of access citizens on our programme, including Ari Kerssens who is an up-and-coming muso and producer, and also happens to be visually impaired.

Working with Ari taught me how incredibly inaccessible production software and hardware is to someone who can’t see, and how hard the tiniest things in life are when the world around you is designed for sighted people. A lack of accessible kit held Ari back from being able to make music because to navigate a DAW, you have to be able to see the screen. Ari and I did a massive amount of research on ways to break down that access barrier and in the end, we found the Native Instruments M32 accessible keyboard (thanks Rockshop for the sponsorship!) which has touch-sensitive buttons and control knobs that give voiced cues when you interact with them.

It also interacts with DAWs like Logic and Ableton through plugins and voices the options on the screen. Even with this incredible technology built in, we still found it really hard to navigate because simple things like installation of the software, and hooking it up to the DAW still required a lot of visual input. But I think Ari would agree that he’s definitely on a roll with the setup now and is making music… I’m soooo excited to see what he creates. 🙂

What has proven the biggest challenge with your project?

I think the biggest challenge for me personally has been trying to represent the voices of those who need accessibility support in a way which is meaningful and respectful. There is a lot of disability legislation within Aotearoa and some brilliant advocacy groups who know this kind of work inside out. So to approach a project like this as a very green disability advocate has been super challenging and scary. I have had some wonderful help and support, however, and I just hope that the general message of inclusivity for all resonates through the messages in the framework.

Let’s talk actions – what are easy changes we can all make to create inclusivity within the industry?

Great question. These are some of the things we promote in the framework:

1. Be curious. Develop your own personal understanding of the access challenges that exist for disabled people around you, by being brave and asking questions. It can feel awkward at first, but acknowledging a person’s ‘whole self’ in a respectful way, is the first step towards creating inclusivity.
2. Don’t assume. Everyone has unconscious biases, and sometimes these can lead to things like ‘ableism’ (a type of discrimination) that hold disabled people back from participation. Be prepared to have meaningful kōrero with the people around you (either old pals or new acquaintances) to figure out what they need to be fully included in the process, activity or space.
3. Be prepared to switch it up. Just because you’ve always done it your way, doesn’t mean it works for everyone. Make it clear to your clients, band members or even your audience that you’re pro accessibility and willing to create some options that work for everyone.
4. Get on board. If you’re not actively designing accessibility into your processes, spaces or opportunities, then you are automatically designing them out. There’s heaps of advice and tips out there to help promote accessible pathways (including the Framework!), so there’s no excuse to keep your head in the sand. Get amongst it and help to make accessibility a mainstream concept in Aotearoa’s music industry

With your events coming up very soon, what can people who are interested expect from them?

The workshops are designed to be interactive, inclusive and fun! We want to provide a space where anyone (musos and non-musos, disabled and non-disabled people) can learn more about the challenges of disability in the music industry and the accessibility ideas we have to share. We’re also super keen to hear feedback and ideas from those that attend.

Who do you reckon would be great to see at the events?

We want to encourage anyone who is interested in supporting positive change for music practitioners, on the whole, to come along to learn how to contribute to that. That can include anyone from performers, producers, event workers, parents, or anyone who is curious to know more. By working and learning together as a community, we definitely have a better chance of making long-lasting and impactful change.

What does your near future hold, after the upcoming events series?

Once we have finished the workshops, we will be taking the feedback we gather to some of our music industry professionals through a series of seminars. We hope that by sharing the approaches in the framework with those who help to look after our industry alongside the community event feedback, that we can encourage positive change at every level.