Musicking as a Radical Act of Hope: An Arts-Based Theoretical Reflection

This chapter offers reflections on musicking as a radical act of hope, one that involves the collective action of engaging in ongoing relationships with human and nonhuman agents alike through musical creation and performance. Focused on the question of how musicking might generate and sustain radical hope in a time of crisis, I reflect on my experience of a recent artistic residency on the theme of hope/less horizons and horizon/less hopes with the collective Landscape of Hate. Referencing selected sound recordings, images, and anecdotes from the residency, I frame this collective moment of musicking in relation to four intersecting dimensions: arena, agenda, human and non-human agents, as well as activities. Through this framing, I explore the “hope affordances” provided through musicking, which include experiencing time differently, feeling discomfort together, and imagining future actions. I argue that musicking, as a radical act of hope, may provide a platform for collectively confronting the most challenging scenarios and conditions of our era. Simultaneously, musicking as a radical act of hope is positioned here as a creative space for envisioning more compassionate, equitable, and sustainable social, political, and ecological futures.