Why funders must pledge to fund equitably

13 Jul 2021

Covid, the murder of George Floyd and the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement all led to an outpouring of statements committing to action on racial inequality in arts funding. Kevin Osborne’s initial optimism about that has since been tempered. 

Arts and culture needs its Euro 2020 moment

three ballet dancers performing on stage
13 Jul 2021

Ethnically diverse creative leaders are experiencing a rise in racist abuse. Amanda Parker calls for government support to kick it out in the arts and cultural sector.  

City of London launches review into racism at Barbican Centre

09 Jul 2021

The centre's funder has stepped in after former and current staff called it "institutionally racist" and lobbied for managers to resign.

Young people taking the lead

Attenborough Arts Centre's resident youth group, Next Gen
06 Jul 2021

A new programme aimed at engaging 18-to-25 year olds with museums and galleries hands over control of the creative direction to the young people themselves. Sophie Alonso explains. 

Opening up the talent pipeline

Promotional image for the Deutsche Bank Award for Creative Entrepreneurs
06 Jul 2021

A group of young creatives have been selected as Creative Entrepreneurs for 2021 on the basis of their potential. Marina Norris looks at a programme aimed at building the opportunities and skills of young people.

Barbican Centre workers call for change to 'inherently racist' management

24 Jun 2021

Sir Nicholas Kenyon has resigned as Managing Director two weeks after current and former staff went public about their experiences.

Choosing care over censorship

24 Jun 2021

The Jess de Wahls controversy has highlighted how tenuous arts organisations' solidarity with transgender people can be. 

Arts company says 'art should be a safe space for debate' amid transphobia row

24 Jun 2021

Artichoke says it will keep Jess de Wahls' contribution to exhibition which provides a platform for "all women, trans and non-binary people": "We do not believe in cancel culture"

A window on the world of Arab culture

photo of dancer Natalie Salsa
22 Jun 2021

2021 marks 10 years of Shubbak – London’s largest biennial festival of contemporary Arab culture. Eckhard Thiemann charts a turbulent decade.

Arts Council England U-turned on banning NPOs that lack diversity

18 Jun 2021

The funder eased up on organisations that repeatedly failed to meet diversity standards, documents show, as it moves towards a new mode of assessment.

State funding for BAME entrepreneurs

graphic of watering can watering a plant
16 Jun 2021

Can using public money to make BAME* entrepreneurs successful be in the public interest if it makes them wealthy too? Kevin Osborne sets out the challenge.

Music tutors leading change through critical reflection

A group of tutors in a meeting
16 Jun 2021

To become genuinely inclusive, organisations need to find space to talk. Michael Davidson runs a music education programme where lived experience has been a catalyst for organisational change.

Dancers lead the arts in Queen’s Birthday Honours

Photo of Hilary Carty
15 Jun 2021

More than 60 arts professionals are included in this year’s Queen’s Birthday Honours list, the most ethnically diverse to date. 

Countering the narratives

MFest logo
09 Jun 2021

Muslim communities are regularly assailed by poor generalisations and by impoverished stories written by ‘someone else’, which are not just mediocre but harmful, writes Raheel Mohammed.

'Black square' arts organisations follow through on diversity vows

04 Jun 2021

Many of the UK's highest-funded arts organisations promised change after George Floyd's death. While governance and programming has evolved, change in the ethnic diversity of their workforces is slow.

Venues pledge to only cast trans actors for trans roles

04 Jun 2021

The movement is part of a sea change in representation in theatre: "It's comparable to non-disabled people playing disabled characters, or even white people putting on blackface."

Slavetrader’s name replaced by symbol of hope

Outside of the Bristol Beacon
02 Jun 2021

One year on from the toppling of the Colston statue in Bristol, Phil Castang reflects on how ditching the Colston name for the concert hall - now the Bristol Beacon - has helped the city move on.

Funding BAME creativity

01 Jun 2021

Kevin Osborne has long been exercised by systemic racial bias in UK arts funding. Last month he produced a panel discussion aimed at ‘digging deep’.

Bradford cultural strategy to 'harness the power of our diversity'

01 Jun 2021

The city aims to add 3,000 jobs to its cultural sector by 2031 - half of them from underrepresented groups - as its current offer lacks "the power to engage all our diverse communities".  

Fifty NPOs face potential sanctions over diversity ratings

28 May 2021

England's National Portfolio Organisations may not be as diverse as reported, with 50 facing possible funding cuts over their failure to improve.

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