The Music Man Project at the RSA: A New Chapter in Inclusion

A landmark exhibition that builds on 270 years of tradition at the Royal Society of Arts

Serving as a UK Disability and Access Ambassador between 2021 and 2025 opened my eyes to the wider world of inclusive arts and culture, far beyond my own expertise in music for people with learning disabilities. In discussions with Government departments across many sectors, I found myself returning to the same message - and it had nothing to do with toilets, buildings, transport, volunteering or employment, vital as they all are. My focus was showcasing disability talent.

I want to read books by and about disabled people in libraries and bookshops. I want the curtains to rise on disabled performers singing, playing, acting and dancing their hearts out in front of thousands in theatres. I want museums to teach us about notable disabled figures from history. I want to see artwork by and of disabled people in galleries.

That is why I was thrilled when The Music Man Project’s official photographer, Jon Webber, suggested a black‑and‑white portrait exhibition of musicians from The Music Man Project. It offered a chance to promote this community on a different platform and through a different artistic medium.

Jon has photographed The Music Man Project since 2018, quickly discovering that his unobtrusive approach and trusted connection with the students allows genuine moments of concentration, joy, and emotion to unfold naturally in front of the lens. Together we realised that these images were capturing something irreplaceable - fleeting moments in time that may never come again.

Alongside his role as the charity’s bass guitarist, Jon has documented many of our greatest adventures, from collaborations with The Royal Marines, The RAF, The London Community Gospel Choir and Michael Ball to international tours to Canada and Italy, and unforgettable performances at the Royal Albert Hall. Grateful for the trust and access he is given, Jon continues to preserve the spirit of The Music Man Project through candid, expressive photography.

In 2024, he began developing a series of black‑and‑white portraits using natural light and a simple backdrop, stripping away distraction to focus entirely on each student. Jon does not consider himself a traditional portrait photographer; instead, he uses quick, playful interaction to reveal the relaxed expression that follows. Whatever a student’s disability, he believes every one of them has a glint in their eye - and his task is simply to find it.

These portraits celebrate the identity and dignity of people with learning disabilities as the primary subjects. They do not capture moments of glory on iconic stages by our leading performers. There are no spectacular backdrops, no instruments, no audience, no curtains. We see the people behind the performers.

This exhibition is also created by a charity rather than a commercial or academic art institution. It reframes disability not as a topic of policy, but as a celebration of humanity and creativity.

The Music Man Project is well known for performing on iconic stages around the world, so it felt entirely fitting that this exhibition would premiere at the historic RSA (Royal Society of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce), the London‑based institution founded in 1754 to promote the arts, industry, and social progress. The RSA is one of the most historically significant, intellectually influential, and culturally prestigious institutions in the UK.

The Music Man Project exhibition, The Music Within: One Beat at a Time, becomes part of a lineage that spans more than 250 years of world‑shaping creativity. This is particularly meaningful to me. Through our global outreach, performances at the Royal Albert Hall and groundbreaking collaborations, The Music Man Project has become a pioneer in accessible and inclusive music and helped turn the UK into a world leader in this field. Our role‑model musicians therefore deserve to be seen on the hallowed walls of the RSA.

As a proud Fellow of the RSA, I stand on the shoulders of the truly remarkable historical figures who came before me: Charles Dickens, Adam Smith, Theodore Roosevelt, Karl Marx, Dame Judi Dench, Richard Attenborough and Isambard Kingdom Brunel, to name but a few esteemed Fellows of the Royal Society.

While the RSA has championed social progress for centuries, its visual history has rarely reflected the lives of people with learning disabilities. Our exhibition places them at the centre of a space historically reserved for the “great and the good”. The Music Man Project challenges 270 years of tradition because portraits in elite venues have traditionally been about status, power, and legacy. Our exhibition shows that these musicians, these performers, these human beings belong here too - equally and proudly.

Inclusion must reach every level of society.

The exhibition also aligns with the RSA’s mission of creativity, community, and social change. What better way to demonstrate this lofty goal than by starting inside their own revered institution, literally within their walls.

This exhibition is not just rare. It is historic, and the RSA is the perfect place to lead this evolution towards genuine inclusion.

As I walk through the RSA and see these portraits looking back at me, I am reminded that inclusion is not achieved through policy alone, but through visibility, representation, and the courage to open doors that have been closed for too long. These musicians are not guests in this space - they are part of its future. Their faces, their stories, and their music will echo far beyond these walls, inspiring a more inclusive cultural landscape for generations to come.

The Music Within: One Beat At A Time at the RSA is free and runs from 13th to 17th April 2026. Tickets for the special launch event on Monday 13th April at 7.30pm are available from the RSA here.

With thanks to the RSA.

David Stanley BEM