End of year review 2023
As we wind down towards the end of the year, it becomes natural to reflect on the year we have had at Audiovisability.
2023 has been filled with exciting projects and the development of our consultancy service. Key to this has been our work in the Imagine Project in partnership with our colleagues at Roehampton University. This groundbreaking project worked with BSL families to encourage the inclusion of deaf children in music and resulted in a series of new songs and music videos. A full project review is featured in the current edition of BATOD's magazine and is a very worthwhile read.
Along the same vein as this was our work in Ireland supporting Kids Classics (now known as Music Health Ireland) where we delivered a workshop at the National Concert Hall, Dublin, to both deaf and hearing families. The theme of Travel around the World allowed the children to participate in pieces from around the globe but in a visual and interactive style. Following the successful workshop Project Director, Grainne Hope, has applied for additional funding to expand the project in 2024.
Next was Down The Rabbit Hole with hard of hearing opera singer Charlotte Hoather, whose highly decorative and interactive opera was performed in many schools in the UK. Featuring BSL and VV performer, Zoe McWhinney, Down the Rabbit Hole aims to increase participation in the opera for both deaf and hearing children.
In April we launched three music videos from the 2022 project, Calypso. Capturing the Deaf experience in Barbados and delivered in ASL, these perfectly demonstrate the power of music and how music can be used to educate and inform. The videos were screened across the UK through various film festivals.
Our final musical project was the Lullaby Project (Opera Sonic) where Ruth travelled to South Wales to work with families and musicians in creating lullabies and stories for deaf children. This project included Deaf consultants, BSL performers and deaf musicians and is being repeated in Newport before hopefully being rolled out across Wales.
2023 was not just about songs and performances, we also worked with ceramic artist Chris Wright on his experiment in the conductivity of music through bone-china and other flat-sheet materials. This was trialed in three deaf schools and was very well received by the children.
We supported a number of festivals and open days, offering music workshops to those who would normally not necessarily have an opportunity to try them, and continued our work within the Deaf community to engage audiences in music.
We’ve worked with a number of emerging deaf musicians, namely Miriam Dubois and Alicia Wiseman. Miriam is a talented djembe player and Alicia is a gifted violinist. We are very excited for them both to join our freelance pool and look forward to working with them in 2024 on a series of projects.
Last, but by no means least, was the work we have completed with Orchestras Live on their Deaf Perspectives Project. A collaboration between Suffolk Archives, Orchestras Live, Britten Sinfonia and deaf pupils from two Bury St Edmunds’ schools, this project focused on the work of Walton Burrell (1863-1944). We were delighted to have been invited to join such a wonderful project and personally very much enjoyed discovering the work of this highly talented Deaf photographer. You can read more here.
For now, all that remains for me to say is I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year - thank you for your support in 2023.
Ruth Montgomery
Artistic Director December 2023
Orchestras Live - Deaf Perspectives
