Contemporary Music, Artistic Citizenship and Education

Traditional boundaries of what conventionally is perceived as the role and of art and artists in society are constantly challenged, not least at present time with scarce economic means and increasing social and democratic challenges. The concept of Artistic citizenship (AC) encap-sulates artists’ social engagement and it high-lights the potential of artistic education to en-force people’s creative agency and general quali-ty of life in a life-long perspective. There appears to be a potential for research on exploring (AC) in formal as well as in informal settings.

This research project resulted in the article "Participatory Music-making in Diasporic Contexts: Bridging the Past, Present, and Future in Cultural Production," which can be accessed here.

Maria Westvall’s work on Artistic Citizenship later led her, in collaboration with Emily Achieng’ Akuno, acting as editor for the book Music as Agency: Diversities of Perspectives on Artistic Citizenship, which was published by Routledge in 2024.