I am a professional social worker in Wisconsin and a few years back I served as a Red Cross disaster relief mental health worker in the weeks after Hurricane Katrina. I served about two weeks in Mississippi. I was interested in how music might impact people who were in crisis after a traumatic event so I took my harmonica with me and found it to be useful in getting a positive response from people waiting in line for services. The music seemed to be a positive for people across racial and cultural lines. So I think there is value in learning more about the use of music as response to crisis and trauma.
Bob Fresen
Fellows Program
Public Domain Foundation (PDF) created the Music2Life (M2L) Fellows program, along with its companion M2L songwriting contest, to support and build a network of musician activists who use their music as a tool for measurable social change in their communities.
Select musician activists (identified through the Music2Life songwriting contest) receive financial and programmatic support for projects that apply music toward a social or political issue. Qualifying musicians, their nonprofit partners and their concepts will receive financial and programmatic support, and technical assistance over a three to six month period of time. Projects will be digitally filmed to document the impact of music on issues of social and political significance and to provide an awareness raising tool.
Our Fellows Programs are showcased through documentaries featured on YouTube.
Our 2009 Fellows
Amy Carol Webb in Miami (the Songbird project)
Amy Carol Webb teams up with Artspring to offer a songwriting curriculum for women in prision that spurs their creativity, self esteem and connection with each other.Artspring's creative artist programs help reduce recidivism!
Josh White, Jr. in Detroit. (the Living History project)
Josh White, Jr. helped to found the Living History project with Rochelle Ballard. Living History works with students k-12 to embed the lessons of African and Native American history through music and role playing. Their efforts create heightened and sustained awareness of race relations among youth.
