Call to Action...

Access Folk is about finding ways of increasing and diversifying participation in folk singing in England. The broad questions are:

• What is the place of folk singing in contemporary England?

• How do people want to engage with English cultural traditions through song?

• How can we facilitate participation in folk singing in England?

Access Folk is built on co-production principles. This means that instead of academics leading the work, the people who will be most affected by the results share the power.

There will be a Board consisting of academics, folk administrators, singers, experts and other stakeholders from the wider cultural sector to make decisions on the research direction and use of resources.

Consulting Groups will provide expertise in specialist areas to advise the Board and feedback on the project as it goes along. Academics and ‘stakeholders’ will work together to design and deliver research, ensuring folk singing stays relevant in the 21st Century.

For more information go to About the Project

The Consulting Groups will draw knowledge together to advise the Board. The groups will be focused on the following specialist areas (drawing on the ‘protected characteristics’ outlined in the Equality Act 2010 and priority areas from Arts Council England).

Age

Including issues such as:

• Folk singing in schools.

• youth engagement in the folk singing scene.

• ageing demographics in the folk singing scene.

• and anything else your expertise suggests the project should consider.

Race and Ethnicity

Including issues such as:

• ideas of Englishness among singers and audiences.

• participation of other than white ethnicities in the folk singing scene.

• participation of Gypsy, Roma and Traveller ethnicities in the folk singing scene.

• representations of race and ethnicity in performance and archival collections.

• and anything else your expertise suggests the project should consider.

Sexuality and Gender

Including issues such as:

• sex and gender roles in performing/organising folk singing.

• LGBTQ+ participation in the folk singing scene.

• impacts of marital status, maternity and other caring responsibilities on participation.

• representations of sexuality and gender in performance and archival collections.

• and anything else your expertise suggests the project should consider.

Disability

Including issues such as:

• access to venues and other folk singing contexts (in person and online).

• participation of physically disabled people, and D/deaf, blind and partially sighted people, in the folk singing scene.

• participation of neurodivergent people, people with learning disabilities and people with long term mental health conditions in the folk singing scene.

• representations of disability in performance and archival collections.

• and anything else your expertise suggests the project should consider.

Beliefs, Politics and Religion

Including issues such as:

• the use of folk singing as an ideological platform.

• associations of English folk singing with far right and leftist politics.

• representation of Christianity and other religions and beliefs in performance and archival collections.

• and anything else your expertise suggests the project should consider.

Class and Socio-economic Background

Including issues such as:

• financial barriers to participation.

• perceived authenticity of certain groups, such as working class and rural performers, over other performers.

• representations of class and socio-economic background in performance and archival collections.

• and anything else your expertise suggests the project should consider.

Participation in the Consulting Groups is flexible and you can drop in and out of meetings depending on your availability/interest in a certain topic. You can stop being a member at any point without giving a reason.

You do not need any formal qualifications to be in the Consulting Groups. We are just interested in your experience and knowledge. This could be about folk music, but insights from people with marginalised lived experience who have been unable to access a folk music community are equally valuable.

This is a co-produced research project and your participation will help to determine the direction of research. As a member of the team you will make an important contribution to the project and help investigate how we can support English folk singing and singers in the future.

People who have been involved in co-produced research have described positive benefits of getting involved including:

• learning about research methods and the topic being researched

• developing a broader understanding of why and how research matters

• developing practical skills by working with other participants and the research team,

• the satisfaction of making a contribution and helping to improve the world around us