21 November 2025 at 12:15 – 13:00. Bring your lunch and join the seminar on Zoom: https://lu-se.zoom.us/j/65437566996.
During the Human Rights Lunch Online seminar on 21 November, Adriana Di Lorenzo Tillborg (Malmö Academy of Music, Lund University), Märtha Pastorek Gripson (Halmstad University), and Anna Johansson (Stockholm University) will present their interdisciplinary research initiative on how kulturskolor work to support the cultural rights of children and adolescents with disabilities.
Their project brings together three distinct academic fields—music education, aesthetics and innovation, and special education—in a unique collaboration. This combination is new in the context of research on cultural rights for children with disabilities. Special education, as they highlight, is itself an interdisciplinary field, drawing from pedagogy, psychology, sociology, and teaching and learning.
Their research aimed to deepen our understanding of how the cultural rights of pupils with disabilities are addressed in kulturskolor. These rights are anchored in Article 27 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Article 31 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. Despite this, children with disabilities often face barriers to participation in cultural life—even within kulturskolor, which are publicly funded institutions offering creative education in various art forms in 286 of Sweden’s 290 municipalities.
The researchers identified a clear need for network meetings between practitioners and researchers to address these challenges. Existing research in this area is limited, mostly focused on music education, and lacks interdisciplinary perspectives.
Drawing on their own teaching backgrounds—dance (Märtha), drama (Anna), and music (Adriana)—the team used these three subjects as a foundation for their literature review and for engaging with the practice field from multiple perspectives, which can enhance the legitimacy and relevance of the research project.
The first step of the project involved mapping how kulturskolor offer adapted education to children and youth with disabilities.
This mapping began with two activities conducted in collaboration with the Council for kulturskolor during its annual conference in April 2025. The first was an interactive Mentimeter survey with all participating school leaders. The second consisted of two network meetings, each with fifteen school leaders, to discuss experiences and challenges. The Council had already agreed to the collaboration, and the conference provided an ideal setting to launch the initiative.
Following the conference, the researchers are in the process of organizing two or three meetings with school leaders and possibly teachers. This part of the process takes the network meetings as a starting point since the leaders interested in continuing the collaboration have provided their contact information.
This upcoming seminar will offer a chance to reflect on the findings, share insights, and discuss the next steps for research and practice. We look forward to welcoming everyone interested in cultural rights, inclusion, and the future of kulturskolor.
Adriana Di Lorenzo Tillborg is senior lecturer in music education at the Malmö Academy of Music, Lund University and member of the Human Rights Profile Area.
Märtha Pastorek Gripson is senior lecturer in aesthetics and innovation at Halmstad University.
Anna Johansson is senior lecturer in the Department of Special Education at Stockholm University.
