The project “MMRC 2026+” (working title) focuses on advancing the strategic vision and international academic positioning of the Music and Minorities Research Center (MMRC) from 2026 onward. To this end, a multi-day international conference will be held at the mdw in the spring of 2026, with the preparatory work for this event forming the central focus of the project.

Established in 2019 as the world’s first international research center dedicated to music and minorities, the MMRC has successfully positioned itself within both national and international research communities. The “MMRC 2026+” project aims to evaluate the MMRC’s diverse activities to date and, based on this evaluation, to develop its future mission statement. Since its founding, the MMRC has conducted numerous externally funded research projects, organized a series of symposia and artistic events, hosted various international lectures, launched its own journal, and published several other academic works. Through these efforts, the MMRC has built an extensive international network and established connections with renowned researchers, communities, and academic as well as cultural institutions.

At the core of the MMRC is the term “minority” which “refers to communities, groups and/or individuals that are at higher risk of discrimination on grounds of ethnicity, race, religion, language, gender, sexual orientation, disability, political opinion, displacement and social or economic deprivation” (MMRC website). Methodologically, the MMRC advocates for “dialogic knowledge production” and adopts an engaged/applied ethnomusicological approach, prioritizing socially relevant research.

After seven years since the establishment of the MMRC and in light of shifting global challenges, the following questions arise: how relevant are these theoretical and methodological concepts today? How can they be further developed to adequately address current and global challenges? The “MMRC 2026+” project investigates these questions, building on the knowledge generated through MMRC initiatives in order to produce new impulses for forward-looking research on minorities within ethnomusicology. Particular emphasis will be placed on fostering contact and exchange with the academic community, minority communities, and the broader public to ensure the societal relevance of the research.

The project will culminate in a multi-day conference featuring national and international participants in spring 2026. The conference will provide a physical space for various stakeholders to come together for knowledge exchange, dialogue, and networking. It will include diverse academic and artistic formats, ranging from lectures and panel discussions to artistic performances and open discussions.

Through these efforts, “MMRC 2026+” will provide insight into the MMRC’s work to date, explore synergies with current discourses in ethnomusicological research, and investigate future perspectives for reflective and socially impactful research in the field of music and minorities.

 

Project lead: Ursula Hemetek, Malik Sharif

Project team: Peter Lell, Claudia Strate

Project duration: October 2024 – April 2026

Funding: Austrian Science Fund FWF Grant-DOI 10.55776/Z352