'Mothers in Music' Programme Seeking Participants

'Mothers in Music' Programme Seeking Participants

The twelve-week programme is aimed at providing support and opportunities for female musicians with parenting responsibilities.

The Oh Yeah Music Centre in Belfast is currently seeking participants for its ‘Mothers in Music’ songwriting programme. The twelve-week programme is aimed at musicians who are mothers, and who may be finding it difficult to dedicate time to their music due to parental responsibilities, offering them an opportunity to spend time on their practice, regain confidence and connect with other musicians in the group. The programme will include sessions on songwriting, music making and studio time, as well as a showcase at the Women’s Work Festival in Belfast in June. 

Participants will begin the programme with a consultation with the team behind the project, who will assess the needs of each individual and remove any barriers to participation that they may face, in order to ensure that all participants can attend each class by arranging suitable dates, times and alternative childcare options if needed. 

The ‘Mothers in Music’ project is one of four different projects, each of which focuses on women who are carers. The other groups focus on intellectual disabilities, ethnic minorities and dementia.  

Charlotte Dryden from the Oh Yeah Music Centre said:

When we were developing the project, we wanted to bring female carers together that are going through similar experiences, so we decided to split it into four cohorts. And seeing as this programme is about improving wellbeing through music, we felt that one of the cohorts should be for musicians themselves. This idea was very much informed by discussions that we were having at our annual Women’s Work music festival, around being a mother and working in music.

The project is supported by the Spirit of 2012 Carer’s Music Fund, which funds projects targeting women and girls who are isolated due to caring responsibilities, with the aim of reducing loneliness, improving mental wellbeing and challenging stereotypes surrounding gender and care work. 

 The deadline for applying is 24 February. To find out more, visit www.ohyeahbelfast.com

Published on 21 February 2020

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