Reverse Ethnomusicology: Migrant musicians as researchers
A research project at MMRC, funded by the FWF Austrian Science Fund, in cooperation with the Phonogrammarchiv (Austrian Academy of Sciences)
Project report:
The research project “Reverse Ethnomusicology: Migrant Musicians as Researchers” originated from two key starting points: observations during ethnomusicological field research in Vienna, and discussions about decentering and rethinking knowledge production in ethnomusicology and migration studies. The central hypothesis was that musicians who migrate to a new place inherently engage in a form of ethnographic research as they navigate and make sense of unfamiliar music spaces. These musicians are not only “knowledge bearers” of the music they practice but also active knowledge producers about music practices, institutions and networks in their new place of residence – knowledge that is often overlooked and undervalued. This raised a core question: How do these musicians observe and interpret musical practices in Austria?
To explore these ideas, the project created a collective space where musicians could articulate and deepen their experiences and insights. The complete project team included five musician-researchers who had migrated to Austria between 2016 and 2020, continuing or seeking to build their musical practice, alongside three to four formally trained researchers, primarily the two principal investigators (ethnomusicologists) and two student assistants.
The project had two main goals. First, it sought to validate, value, and facilitate the knowledge production of musicians who had migrated to Austria: Each musician-researcher developed their own research project, focusing on a self-selected music sphere in Austria based on their interests, ideas, and hypotheses. Second, the project aimed to expand common approaches to knowledge production. While the ethnomusicologists offered guidance and options, the musician-researchers retained control over their research questions and methods. This framework drew from applied and engaged ethnomusicology, as well as bell hooks’ concept of engaged pedagogy.
The project operated on two interconnected levels: the individual musician-researchers’ projects and the “meta-level” of ongoing reflection and adaptation. The latter involved reassessing ongoing processes to align with the evolving needs of both the individual projects and the broader framework. This dynamic and experimental approach was supported by weekly PI and student assistant meetings, seven joint workshops, and numerous group and individual meetings. Joint workshops and smaller group meetings created spaces to reflect on experiences, methods and findings, and develop strategies for sharing the work with wider audiences. Individual guidance addressed specific challenges and advance research approaches, which was supplemented by mentorships for additional expertise (e.g., quantitative research, festival organization, songwriting). The musician-researchers were compensated for their 19 months of work.
Throughout the entire process, the ethnomusicologists examined power dynamics, socio-economic factors and individual situations, acknowledging inevitable differences in value hierarches, and the constant risk of re-enforcing Othering. These issues related to specific experiences of migration, racialization, class, expectations of knowledge hierarchies, and judgements of musical expertise within the entire team and were addressed in workshops, individual sessions and post-project interviews. Some friction also arose around methodological decision-making.
The project expanded common roles in ethnomusicological research and experimented with the boundaries of ethnographic methodologies. It engaged with the idea of a citizen music research, where people produce knowledge that is otherwise not framed as “academic” (citizen science). The projects’ approaches were closely documented and are being evaluated for future applications. Ultimately, the project underscored the importance of the continuous labour of care, and of remuneration of all kinds of knowledge production to facilitate such collaborative and experimental research projects.
Project lead: Dr. Anja Brunner (Department for Folk Music Research and Ethnomusicology/MMRC, mdw), Dr. Cornelia Gruber (Phonogrammarchiv, ÖAW; payed In-Kind)
Project members: Petzi Beneš (2023–2025), Ioannis Christidis (2025), Valeska Andrea Díaz Soto (2023–2024), Lis Vovka (2024–25)
Project duration: 04/2023 to 03/2026
Funding: FWF – Austrian Science Fund, 1000-Ideas-Program, Grant-DOI 10.55776/TAI724
Musician-Researchers: