Livelihoods as a kaleidoscope of distributed lifeworlds: Towards a nuanced understanding of music-making and identity in migrants in South-East Queensland

Abstract

ABSTRACT This study presents an investigation into the multiple and often marginalised ways of being, knowing, educating, and performing the complex identity of migrant musicianship. It examines the lived experiences of migrant musicians in South East Queensland and is based on the premise that cultural diversity as experienced through music creates value in ways that are complex, particularly in the context of displaced lives. The article is built on the conceptual framework wherein ‘capacitating’ the self and other is an enacted aggregate of the following multidimensional affordances: emotional expression, social interaction, self-identity, and agency. It argues that the wide range of activities that migrant musicians undertake in their new homes not only builds capacity in them but also adds culturally-derived value to their lives and the lives of those that they encounter. By employing the methodology of Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis, the migrant female participant-researcher unpacks the motivations, rewards, and challenges that a purposive selection of Brisbane-based migrant musicians articulate. The emergent themes reveal three key features as central to the lives and livelihoods of migrant musicians: connectedness, self-identity, and wellbeing. The findings of this study hold implications for future research in cultural value, music education, and migrant studies.