ZHOU Mo wins 2025 British Forum for Ethnomusicology Fieldwork Award

The award supports Mo’s fieldwork exploring connections between traditional and modern music of the Wa ethnic group, a transnational ethnic group in Asia, mainly distributed in mainland China, Myanmar, and Thailand.

Mo’s 2025 fieldwork is conducted in Ximeng (in China’s Yunnan Province), one of the main gathering places for the Wa ethnic group. It involves interviewing local artists, visiting Wa historical sites, and participating in local activities – all aimed at exploring how globalization and modernization continue to impact indigenous culture in this context. She examines how Wa music has developed various new genres in the context of modern music, bringing new possibilities for its future development.

The BFE’s prize panel commended Mo’s winning proposal for excellent framing of her research and for the clarity of its presentation of her fieldwork aims in the context of her PhD project.

More information about the award is available here: https://bfe.org.uk/bfe-fieldwork-grants-scheme.