Sustaining indigenous performing arts: The potential decolonizing role of arts-based service learning

Abstract

This chapter describes a community outreach activity initiated by a School of Music founded on the conservatory traditions of Western Europe. The institution is transforming its learning culture by looking beyond the inherited signature pedagogies of the performance studio and music education traditions. The voice department of this School of Music is sharing its research wealth with the Indigenous Māori community and the Indigenous Pacific Island migrant communities who have settled in Aotearoa New Zealand. In these communities the performing arts genres now operate as culturally safe places to retain and develop language skills, enhance knowledge of cultural practices and establish and strengthen relationships with other members of the community. This discussion focuses on the partnership developed between the voice department and community groups that work with the Indigenous Māori performing arts genre, Kapa Haka. It is one example of this institution’s attempt to counter the effect of colonization and globalization on its Indigenous peoples by supporting the development of the Indigenous performing arts. It highlights the potential of arts-based service learning as a decolonizing practice.