The Department of Folk Music Research, founded by Walter Deutsch in 1965, focused in its first 20 years primarily on Austrian and European instrumental and vocal music within the tradition of European folk music research.

In the late 1980s there began a process of opening, where music research began to include national minorities, followed by ethnic, migrant, religious and social groups which had previously been ignored. This process was reflective of broader developments in Austrian society and politics, and actively advocated for rights and protections for minorities, not only researching music from marginalized communities, but also curating and presenting music to diverse audiences in an effort to make alliances between distinct minority communities. In this podium discussion, the landscape of ethnomusicological research in Vienna through this period will be discussed, with inputs from individuals who experienced and advocated for change.

The conversation will be punctuated by archival recordings featured in the digital exhibition "Objects and the Archive: Episodes in the Development of Music and Minorities Research".

Programme:

Opening Remarks: 

• Ursula Hemetek (MMRC, co-project lead)

• Marko Kölbl (Department of Folk Music Research and Ethnomusicology)

Guide of the digital Exhibition:

• Malik Sharif

Panel discussion:

"Do archives and research reflect societal developments?"

• moderated by Benjy Fox-Rosen (MMRC, Exhibition curator)

• With Ursula Hemetek, Gerda Lechleitner, Hande Sağlam, Maria Walcher

Date:

Tuesday, 06 October 2026, 18:00 (CET)

Location:

spiel|mach|t|raum – neuer Saal und virtuelle Plattform
Raum S 0225 – Saal des Zentrums für Weiterbildung
Anton-von-Webern-Platz 1
1030 Wien

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact us: mmrc@mdw.ac.at

Project website: Objects and the Archive: Episodes in the Development of Music and Minorities Research

Project funding:  Austrian Science Fund FWF Grant-DOI 10.55776/Z352