our SONGS: identity, Expression and Unity

ongoing

Despite the musical talent that many people with disability possess, they often struggle to gain exposure, access opportunities and receive the recognition they deserve. Culture and creativity are powerful tools for empowering people with disabilities: by promoting self-expression, social inclusion and skills development, they can contribute to a more inclusive society and provide individuals with disabilities the opportunity to showcase their natural aptitude for music. By leveraging the lessons learned in working with modern digital technologies within the Erasmus+ REVIVAL project, SONGS EU will aim at nurturing the musical talent of persons with intellectual disabilities. After preliminary training sessions and working closely with musicians, they will create original lyrics and songs, exploiting sound creatively to capture their personal stories, artistic expressions, spoken words and music. Using AI-driven and assistive technologies to aid sound creation and editing will allow for greater autonomy in the artistic process, and a virtual exhibition space will be produced to showcase the produced artworks to the public. Fully aligned with the Social Inclusion and Digital Transition priorities of the call, the SONGS EU project will also challenge societal perceptions of intellectual disability, demonstrating the artistic capabilities of individuals with disabilities and increasing their visibility in the European cultural spaces. In line with the objective 2 of the call, SONGS EU will demonstrate the contribution of artistic expression to the well-being of persons with intellectual disabilities and its role in improving people mental health. SONGS EU consortium is made up of 7 cultural and creative partners from 6 EU Countries. The main outputs are a handbook to guide beneficiaries during the music creative process, original songs made by project participants and a European virtual exhibition space.