USW graduate honoured for improving accessibility for musicians with disabilities

A University of South Wales (USW) graduate has been awarded a prestigious honour for his work in improving accessibility for musicians with disabilities.

Graduating this summer with a first class honours in music producing at USW, Finley Allen’s “fantastic” work has been recognised by a Grammy-nominated Welsh producer.

The Romesh Dodangoda Graduate Award for Excellence has been awarded to the 22-year-old for his work exploring the accessibility of music venues in Cardiff, Nation Cymru reports.

Surveying 15 music venues throughout Cardiff, the USW graduate sought to uncover whether each building was accessible for wheelchair users.

Fin, who has cerebral palsy, is a wheelchair user himself, and his investigation revealed that “there’s a lot more that can be done to make it a truly inclusive place for everybody to enjoy gigs.”

The USW graduate’s survey further uncovered how, although Cardiff’s music venues have accessibility measures for audience members with disabilities, measures for performers remain lacking.

Fin spoke of how “vibrant and diverse” Cardiff’s music scene is, telling Nation Cymru: “My hope is that, with more time and resources, I can speak to other people with disabilities who might be facing similar challenges.”

Speaking about the award itself, the USW graduate expressed how much of an honour it is to be recognised for his work, which highlights that more must be done to ensure musicians and artists with disabilities are able to perform at venues.

The Grammy-nominated producer, Romesh Dodangoda, whose work includes collaborations with Bring On The Horizon, Motorhead, Funeral for Friend, Nova Twins and Twin Atlantic, said it was a “privilege” to listen to Fin’s story.

Romesh, who is a USW graduate, continues to influence and inspire students at USW by teaching multiple masterclasses.

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“Fin’s work is absolutely fantastic – what he has done will not only bring about positive change for himself, but it is important for so many people in society,” the Grammy-nominated producer added.

The course leader for the BA in music producing at USW, David Coker, has joined Romesh in praising Fin’s work, describing his journey as “nothing short of inspirational”.

“In his quest to find performance spaces suitable for wheelchair users, he has started an important conversation around how accessible venues actually are – something that I don’t believe has been done before, to this extent,” he said.

David went on to highlight the effect Fin has made on Cardiff’s music scene when it comes to “community and inclusivity”, commending his work as “powerful.”

For wheelchair users, the course leader explained how a lack of accessibility makes music lovers and performers feel unwelcome, turning them away from attending a venue and impacting whether they go to other gigs later down the line.

“By seeing a change, we will benefit from greater diversity among performers and audiences,” David added.

Featured image via @finley_allen1 on Instagram