Resources

The Access Folk Podcast

Folk singers and musicians Joanie Bones and Oliver Cross discuss some of the themes that emerged from the Access Folk research project about participation and inclusion in folk singing in England. Drawing on findings from the research report Accessing Folk Singing in England they interview singers, musicians and educators as well as drawing on their own lived experience to discuss issues around disability, gender, ethnicity and much more.

Accessing Folk Singing in England

This report presents views and experiences gathered through the first phase of Access Folk through a process we call the consulting group. The purpose of the consulting group was to gather current issues faced by different sectors of society when accessing folk singing in England in order to inform our future research. We began by identifying six areas where itseemed that access to folk singing might be problematic. Informed by the protected characteristics categories from the Equality and Human Rights Commission (2010), and Arts Council England (2021), our six chosen themes are – Belief, Politics & Religion; Disability; Gender & Sexuality; Race & Ethnicity; Age; and Class & Socio-Economic Background. 

A mock-up of the report on Participatory Research in Music by the Access Folk team

Participatory Research in Music

This resource introduces Participatory Research between music organisations and Higher Education institutions. It is a short guide to anyone who wants to work together on a research project and highlights common pitfalls and opportunities for a successful collaboration. It was co-written by five music organisations and academics from the University of Sheffield in 2022.

First Steps in Participatory Research

An important part of our work is to support researchers in developing good relationships with community partners and encourage them to use participatory methods in their research. To this end, our research associates Esbjörn Wettermark and Kirsty Kay have produced a new guide to Participatory Research aimed at Postgraduate and Early Career Researchers, as well as a video giving 10 top tips!

Symposium Posters:

Ask a Friend - Poster FINAL.pdf
Hield Fay- Poster FINAL.pdf

Interim Reports – more detailed findings / full analysis to be published in due course...

Ask a Friend_ An interim report for the Access Folk Board.pdf
Exploring Englishness in Folk Singing_ Report for the Access Folk Board.pdf
Folk Singing Survey_ An Interim Report for the Access Folk Board.pdf