Research Shorts: East Asian Voices of Resistance Against Racism in Music
22nd April 2025
This week, I spoke with Dr Maiko Kawabata about her vital new collection, co-edited with Ken Ueno, East Asian Voices of Resistance Against Racism in Music, which has just been published by Ethics International Press Ltd, UK (2025). Maiko is a Staff Tutor in Music at the Open University and Reader in Music at the Royal College of Music.
Maiko explained that the book features ‘eleven authors calling out racism against East Asians in the field of music. As co-editor, I’m proud of each author’s bravery and that we take a stand together as a collective.’
I asked her about the impact of this collection, and she explained:
‘The fact that many East Asian musicians experience racism is not as well known as it should be. Our work is motivated by the need to draw more attention to this fact. Our hope is that it will help to kickstart conversations to enable change – in musical practices and in institutions.
Maiko’s introduction to the book positions it as a ‘creative act of resistance against racism in music, and in solidarity with activism that targets inequalities in the arts more broadly’. She explained that ‘My research stems from my own lived experience and from that of friends, colleagues and students. These are not the isolated experiences of individuals but rather indicative of larger societal patterns and structures. By examining these root causes, by analysing them and learning about their mechanisms, we can start to imagine how to oppose them.’
I asked Maiko how the project got started, and she explained that in 2019, she started a collaboration with Dr Shzr Ee Tan (Royal Holloway, University of London) to ‘draw attention to the ways that East Asian musicians are racialised. Since then, our network of academics, musicians and activists has grown into an international community that is truly inspiring.’
Read more
- Read a sample of the book
- Learn more about Maiko (RCM profile)
- Learn more about Ken Ueno
Written by Sarah K. Whitfield – Research Manager for Music Mark
