Community Music as Voice-based Art Empowerment for Elders in Hong Kong

Abstract

In Hong Kong, senior citizens have been experiencing marginalization, voicelessness, and powerlessness, due to various structural factors, including medical-oriented policies and the ableist culture. This situation aligns with the concept of the "culture of silence" described in critical theory when people are oppressed. Through over ten years of engagement in community arts work, I have observed the empowering role of storytelling in practice and have also identified how critical theory has catalyzed various social and cultural practices worldwide over the past century, as evidenced in the literature review.

This study invited a group of Hong Kong elders to participate in a community music workshop. The community music approach supported by the art empowerment perspective was applied to facilitate the creation of original songs by the workshop participants. In the workshop sessions, the participants experienced collective music exercises and a mutual story-sharing process to turn their thoughts, emotions, and collective identities into a song.

In this process, I conducted two research components: a quantitative questionnaire study to measure the effects of community music and a qualitative research using in-depth interviews and grounded theory methodology to gain a deeper understanding of the contextual circumstances facing participants in community music.

The quantitative research findings revealed that community music enhanced and maintained a sense of empowerment, interpersonal support, and self-esteem among Hong Kong elders. The theoretical insights generated from the qualitative research integrated multiple concepts, reflecting how Hong Kong elders experience voicelessness, what the process of community music entails, and what effects community music had on them. The results from both studies complemented each other and embodied the worldview of critical theory, exploring the potential silencing effects of the cultural industry and how collective creation helps us rediscover and express our voices. Through this research, I hope to contribute to the indigenization and consolidation of community music approaches and the arts empowerment perspective in Hong Kong.

Date of Award	11 Sept 2023
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	City University of Hong Kong
Supervisor	Wing Hong CHUI (Supervisor) & Chau Kiu Jacky CHEUNG (Supervisor)