Actor and creator Dominykas Vaitiekūnas, together with the world-renowned deaf Finnish rapper Marko Vuoriheimo, presented in Lithuania the educational publication “How to Connect Sign Language and Music?”, created as part of the artistic inclusion project “Not What We Agreed”. This is a unique methodology, the first of its kind published in Lithuania and Finland, and almost unparalleled in the world, designed for artistic collaboration between deaf and hearing people.
“The publication was born out of the need to share experience and pass it on to everyone interested in the connection between sign language and music. As far as I could find, similar things exist only in the USA and the United Kingdom, so inspired by the experience gained in the “Not What We Agreed” project, we decided to share it both here in Lithuania, where such information is extremely scarce, and elsewhere in the world,” said Dominykas Vaitiekūnas, co-author of the publication.
Today, more and more hearing people discover the uniqueness of sign language, but acquaintance with deaf culture is accompanied by many questions, so the publication is intended for educators, inclusive education specialists and people interested in working with the deaf in science, music or stage performances.
In addition to Lithuanian, this electronic practical guide has been published in two other languages – English and Finnish. The Finnish version will be presented by Dominykas Vaitiekūnas together with Markos Vuoriheimas during a separate event in Finland.
“The idea for this publication was dictated by our individual experiences and the later discovered joy of creating a space together that does not compare who can do more, but invites us to experiment in search of an answer to the question – what can we do together?”, – shared Marko Vuoriheimo’s thoughts, adding that when he was still young, he learned to sing and rap, he had no methodology for it.
According to the authors, some of the tools offered in the publication do not require significant skills or knowledge. And the other part is intended for those who are more deeply interested in performing arts. The publication briefly discusses not only the tools, means or exercises tested by the participants of “Not What We Agreed”, but also presents the team members’ attitudes towards each other. According to the authors, it is an important part of the methodology of creative and educational processes, because the latter do not divide readers into deaf and hearing. This publication is intended for everyone, regardless of hearing skills.
“As you will notice, we are not talking about disability in the publication. For us, a sign language community is a linguistic culture. A culture that, when understood, reveals beauty that encourages empathy,” Dominykas Vaitiekūnas opened up.
The event in the packed cinema hall of the LMTA Study Campus was opened by Minister of Education Raminta Popovienė together with LMTA Vice-Rector for Studies Rūta Rikterė, who recognized the importance of inclusive education and wished the “We Didn’t Negotiate Like This” project and the deaf community to continue to ambitiously achieve their goals.
Another guest at the event, Debbie Z. Rennie, a deaf theater director from Sweden, shared her experience as a professional theater director.
The panel discussion, along with Marko Vuoriheim and Debbie Z. Rennie, was attended by Equal Opportunities Ombudsman Birutė Sabatauskaitė, LMTA Vice-Rector for Arts and Science Ramunė Balevičiūtė, and Head of the Lithuanian Centre for the Education of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Svetlana Beniušienė, who sought more ways of inclusion.
“Not What We Agreed” is a musical-social inclusion project developed since 2020, combining music, sign language poetry, songs in two languages - Lithuanian spoken and sign language, video projection art, and educational and scientific activities.
The premiere of the audiovisual experiential project performance took place in November 2024, and its initiator, artist Dominykas Vaitiekūnas, received the “Boris Dauguvietis Earring” for this performance and the Ministry of Culture award for the best cultural education activities of 2024.
The event “Deaf – a professional performer: how to achieve it?” is partially funded by the Lithuanian Council for Culture and Vilnius City Municipality.
The publication “How to Combine Sign Language and Music?” is funded by the European Union. This publication reflects the views only of the author, and the National Agency and the European Commission cannot be held responsible for the information contained therein.
You can read the publication here: https://www.dominykasvaitiekunas.lt/_files/ugd/605a61_c93ada2bd8c547f294a412a9278cb590.pdf
More about the project: https://parc.lmta.lt/en/renginys/not-what-we-agreed/
