News Room By Roselyn Yusuf
The Incredible Music Festival kicked off with insightful workshops and one that stood out amongst many others was the “Music & The Deaf,” session featuring Wuni Bitrus, co-founder and CEO of the Deaf Tech Foundation. The workshop delved into the often-overlooked world of music appreciation and creation for the deaf community, challenging preconceived notions and opening minds to new experiences.
Bitrus, an advocate for inclusivity of the deaf community in the music industry, kicked off the session by sharing experiences encountered by deaf people navigating the world of sound. He further discussed that deafness equates to a complete absence of sound perception, highlighting the diverse range of hearing abilities within the deaf community. He explained that some individuals experience profound deafness, while others have varying degrees of residual hearing. This spectrum of auditory experiences opens doors to a multitude of ways in which deaf people engage with music.
The CEO of Deaf Technology Foundation also explored the concept of “felt music,” where sound vibrations are experienced through touch rather than hearing. Participants were engaged to practise basic sign languages and their meanings and a dance performance by the deaf community at the cause of the session.
The workshop also delved into introducing the audience to video clips of artists who use sign language to express the emotions and narratives through music and the growing trend of deaf composers like Beethoven and other sound designers who are pushing the boundaries of music creation using innovative technologies.
Bitrus’ session not only enlightened the audience about the diverse experiences of deaf people with music but also challenged their understanding of what music truly is. It was a reminder that music is not just about hearing sounds; it’s about emotions, connection, and self-expression, and these experiences are accessible to everyone, regardless of their auditory abilities.
He said, “Having this kind of exposure for the deaf community in the music industry will go a long way because people are now aware that they have important things to contribute to the community and that deaf persons have a stake in the society, the deaf community will be recognized for their talents and will be appreciated for their talents without discriminations and reduce the stereotypes”.
“As a creative I make use of subtitles in my content but this session is now an eye opener as I’ve understood the need to even learn sign language to build a fluent way of communicating my content with the deaf community” said Streetz Dung, a participant in the workshop.
The creative director of Larengs Photography who simply identified himself as Pannann also shared his view: “When I’m creating contents as a photographer I have never thought of the deaf community but from what I learnt in this session, I am looking forward to incorporate content having the deaf people in mind and by extension empowering them through teaching the photography skill to help express themselves”.
The “Music & The Deaf” workshop sparked important conversations about inclusivity not only in the music industry but for other creatives and opened minds to the possibilities of exploring the deaf community.
As the Incredible Music Festival continues, one can only hope that this session’s message of inclusivity resonates throughout the event, creating a more welcoming experience for all music lovers, regardless of their hearing abilities.
