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Researchers have a wide range of tools for health assessments to choose from, some of which can be lengthy and time consuming. The purpose of this paper is to examine a potentially shorter alternative, the EQ‐5D instrument, with a community dwelling population sample of older people. Data was obtained using trained interviewers from a randomly sampled crosssectional survey of community dwelling older people. 423 people aged 70‐99 were interviewed. Information was obtained relating to activities of daily living, the EQ‐5D, the EQ‐VAS, the SF‐36, use of health and social care services and the presence or absence of a limiting illness, disability or infirmity. In terms of construct validity, the EQ‐5D was able to distinguish between hypoThesised differences in the sample that could be expected to reflect differences in health‐related quality of life. The EQ‐5D items correlated well with conceptually similar items. Completion rates for the EQ‐5D items were good, ranging from 98.3‐98.8%. Completion rates for the EQ‐VAS were 98.1%. The results suggest that the EQ‐ 5D may provide a valid measure of health‐related quality of life in a cross‐sectional population sample of older adults, although the emphasis of the scale is very much on physical health and functioning. The results for the depression/anxiety item suggest that additional information may be needed if mental health is of concern.

Racialised misrepresentation circulated en masse can be understood as a form of symbolic and cultural violence. Such misrepresentations create a dominant cultural narrative that positions people of African background as violent and troubled and therefore incompatible with Australian society. Young people from various groups have been using arts-for-social-change to challenge and dismantle these imposed misrepresentation and reconstruct narratives that reflect their lived experiences. The purpose of this paper is to explore sound portraits, both the process and product, by tracing the journey of New Change, arts collective comprised of young women of African heritage, who have been pushing for social change.

This collaborative research mobilises arts methodologies, bringing together sound arts, audio documentary and narrative research methods. Data gathering included arts artefacts and interviews with the young women and sound recordings from news media to craft a sound portrait entitled “Battle for truth”.

Battle for Truth is a sound portrait that serve as the findings for this paper. Sound portraits privilege participants’ voices and convey the complexity of their stories through the layering of voices and other soundscapes. This sound portrait also includes a media montage of racialised misrepresentation.

Through their restorying, sound portraits are a way to counter passive and active forgetting and wilful mishearing, creating a space in the public memory for polyphonic voices and stories that have been shutout. Sound portraits necessitate reflexivity and dialogue through deep listening, becoming important sites for reimagining possibilities for social change and developing new activist avenues.

This paper brings together sonic methods, liberation arts and social justice perspectives to attend to power, race, gender and voice.