Dr Karolien Dons is professor (lector) Music in Context at the Research Centre Art & Society of the Hanze. Her expertise consists of innovative music practices in societal contexts. Recurring themes in Karolien’s recent research activities are a.o. participatory music practice, engaged musicianship and ethical aspects, for example about inclusion, equity and autonomy. Karolien was connected to the research group Lifelong Learning in Music where she substantially contributed to numerous research and innovation projects in capacity of researcher and project leader, such as Music and Dementia, Music at the Odense house, Meaningful Music in Healthcare (MiMiC) and Professional Excellence in Meaningful Music in Healthcare (ProMiMiC). Karolien studied musicology at Ghent University (Belgium) and music psychology at the University of Jyväskylä (Finland). In 2019, Karolien obtained her doctoral degree at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama (London) with an ethnographic study into co-creative musicking with vulnerable elderly people.

Innovative music practices, musical co-creation, new audiences, person-centred music making, culture participation, participatory arts practice, ethnography

Chairperson of the Ethical Review Board of the Hanze University (HEAC)