Abstract
Gender diversity in new art music festival programming has been a topic of heightened interest since the 2016 Gender Research in Darmstadt (GRID) discussions, which focused on the lack of female composers represented in the archives of the Darmstadt International Summer Course for New Music. GRID’s public nature shone a light on the extent to which new music programming is male-dominated, which has led to many directors worldwide making an effort to address gender disparity in programming. Initially, it may seem that open-access and call-based festivals will have difficulty reaching gender parity, due to having less control over programming than curated festivals. However, call-based festivals with peer-review processes can be effective at mitigating bias and achieving gender parity. This chapter uses Tilde New Music and Sound Art Incorporated’s (Tilde’s) call-based new music festival as a case study in gender-equal programming of both composers and performers. It provides an account of the Darmstadt discussions, an overview of programmes aimed at promoting change, and an overview of methods for programming with gender parity. It discusses Tilde’s “focus area” method, encouraging applicants to consider programming more works by female, non-binary, intersex, and transgender artists.
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Notes
- 1.
Most of the research relating to gender in music implies a binary understanding of gender and excludes trans, non-binary, and other gender-non-conforming identities and experiences. Future research must include all gender identities and experiences in order to maintain rigour and benefit from the voices of diverse experiences, as discussed in Anna Lindqvist, Marie Gustafsson Sendén, and Emma A. Renström’s “What Is Gender, Anyway: A Review of the Options for Operationalising Gender,” Psychology & Sexuality, February 10, 2020, https://doi.org/10.1080/19419899.2020.1729844.
This chapter attempts to use inclusive language where possible; however, this is limited by the scope of the studies cited.
- 2.
“Feminist Activism During Darmstädter Ferienkurse 2016,” GRID, accessed August 4, 2018, https://griddarmstadt.wordpress.com/page/2/.
- 3.
“Panel GRID Darmstadt 2016—08—03,” Gender Research Darmstadt, last modified August 4, 2016. https://griddarmstadt.wordpress.com/2016/08/04/62/.
- 4.
“Historage: Composing the Archive (2016),” Internationales Musikinstitut Darmstadt, accessed June 20, 2017, https://internationales-musikinstitut.de/en/imd/projekte/composingthearchive/.
- 5.
Ashley Fure, “GRID—Gender Research in Darmstadt,” last modified August 6, 2016, https://griddarmstadt.files.wordpress.com/2016/08/grid_gender_research_in_darmstadt.pdf
- 6.
“Panel GRID Darmstadt.”
- 7.
Marina Warner, “Learning My Lesson: Marina Warner on the Disfiguring of Higher Education,” London Review of Books 37, no. 6 (2015): 8–14.
- 8.
Michael Nyman, Experimental Music: Cage and Beyond (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1974).
- 9.
Christoph Cox, “A La Recherche d’une Musique Féminine,” in Her Noise, ed. Anne Hilde Neset and Lina Dzuverovic-Russell (London: Forma, 2005): 7–13.
- 10.
“Panel GRID Darmstadt.”
- 11.
Tara Rogers, Pink Noises: Women on Electronic Music and Sound (Durham, North Carolina: Duke University Press, 2010).
- 12.
The German Federal Government, “Basic Law,” Press and Information Office of the Federal Government, accessed November 23, 2018, https://www.bundesregierung.de/breg-en/chancellor/basic-law-470510.
- 13.
“Panel GRID Darmstadt.”
- 14.
“Panel GRID Darmstadt.”
- 15.
Neele Hülcker et al. “GRID panel at Darmstadt Statement,” GRID, last modified August 4, 2016, https://griddarmstadt.wordpress.com/2016/08/04/46/.
- 16.
“Panel GRID Darmstadt.”
- 17.
“Panel GRID Darmstadt.”
- 18.
See Joanna Crothers, “Melbourne International Jazz Festival: Women Musicians Seek to Change the Jazz World’s Boys Club,” ABC, June 2, 2018, https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-06-02/changing-the-jazz-worlds-boys-club/9826392; Cat Hope, “Why Is There So Little Space for Women in Jazz Music?” The Conversation, June 26, 2017, https://theconversation.com/why-is-there-so-little-space-for-women-in-jazz-music-79181; and Emma Stephenson, “Women’s Jazz Is Not a Genre of Music,” Jazz Australia, December 30, 2016, http://jazz.org.au/womens-jazz-is-not-a-genre-of-music/.
- 19.
Faye J. Crosby, Aarti Iyer, Susan Clayton, and Roberta Downing, “Affirmative Action: Psychological Data and the Policy Debates”, The American Psychologist 58, no. 2 (2003): 93–115.
- 20.
Jennifer Whelan and Robert Wood, “Targets and Quotas for Women in Leadership: A Global Review of Policy, Practice, and Psychological Research,” Gender Equality Project (Melbourne: Melbourne Business School, Centre for Ethical Leadership, 2012).
- 21.
“Keychange,” accessed October 17, 2018, https://keychange.eu/.
- 22.
“Keychange.”
- 23.
“Keychange.”
- 24.
“Panel GRID Darmstadt.”
- 25.
Cox, “A La Recherche d’une Musique Féminine,” 7–13.
- 26.
Whelan and Wood, “Targets and Quotas for Women in Leadership.”
References
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Crothers, Joanna. Melbourne International Jazz Festival: Women Musicians Seek to Change the Jazz World’s Boys Club. ABC News, June 2, 2018. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-06-02/changing-the-jazz-worlds-boys-club/9826392.
Fure, Ashley. GRID: Gender Research in Darmstadt. Last modified August 6, 2016. https://griddarmstadt.files.wordpress.com/2016/08/grid_gender_research_in_darmstadt.pdf.
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Hope, Cat. Why is there so little space for women in jazz music? The Conversation, June 26, 2017. https://theconversation.com/why-is-there-so-little-space-for-women-in-jazz-music-79181.
Internationales Musikinstitut Darmstadt. Historage: Composing the Archive. https://internationales-musikinstitut.de/en/imd/projekte/composingthearchive/. Accessed 20 June 2017.
Keychange. Keychange. https://keychange.eu/. Accessed 17 Oct 2018.
Lindqvist, Anna, Marie Gustafsson Sendén & Emma A. Renström. “What is Gender, Anyway: A Review of the Options for Operationalising Gender.” Psychology & Sexuality 2020. https://doi.org/10.1080/19419899.2020.1729844.
Nyman, Michael. Experimental Music: Cage and Beyond. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1974.
Rodgers, Tara. Pink Noises: Women on Electronic Music and Sound. Durham, North Carolina: Duke University Press, 2010.
Stephenson, Emma. Women’s Jazz is Not a Genre of Music. Jazz Australia, December 30, 2016. http://jazz.org.au/womens-jazz-is-not-a-genre-of-music/.
The German Federal Government. Basic Law. Press and Information Office of the Federal Government. https://www.bundesregierung.de/breg-en/chancellor/basic-law-470510. Accessed 23 Nov 2018.
Warner, Marina. “Learning My Lesson: Marina Warner on the Disfiguring of Higher Education.” London Review of Books 37, no. 6 (2015): 8–14.
Whelan, Jennifer, and Robert Wood. Targets and Quotas for Women in Leadership: A Global Review of Policy, Practice, and Psychological Research. Gender Equality Project. Melbourne: Melbourne Business School, Centre for Ethical Leadership, 2012.
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Bennett, A. (2022). Programming with Gender Parity in Call-Based New Music Festivals. In: Kouvaras, L., Grenfell, M., Williams, N. (eds) A Century of Composition by Women. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-95557-1_14
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