In association with Baluji Music Foundation the latest survey for the Blind to the Facts research has already begun commencing as of early February. The survey has been launched to expose challenges across London and the UK music industry and encourage inclusion of blind and visually impaired people. Conducted by Dr Claire Castle in collaboration with Dr David Baker of the University of London Institute of Education, the survey has been funded by the Vision Foundation.
“Being great at music isn’t enough to get you employed as a musician. That’s true for all musicians, but the 1995 survey showed it’s even more so the case if you’re blind. I have experienced this myself. I have lost jobs or been made to feel that including me on a tour would be an inconvenience because of my blindness – the music doesn’t even come into it. The point of this survey and what we’re trying to do with the BMF is to find out why, and remove these pointless obstacles – not just for musicians but for promoters, sound technicians, composers etc. – and create opportunities across the whole UK music industry. Blind people may not be able to see you, but we deserve to be seen and heard.” – Baluji Shrivastav OBE.
There are currently more than 2 million people in the UK living with sight loss which is causing a significant impact on their daily lives. Within the UK music industry there is also a low number of blind and visually impaired musicians and individuals working. The research that will be conducted by Baluji Music Foundation will be hugely beneficial to those who are visually impaired and will help to point out areas of improvement in the industry that can then be acted upon.
For more information on the survey contact:
Dr Claire Castle at blindtothefacts@bravovictor.org or on +44 (0) 771 085 9149