North East cultural workers call out discrimination

13 Oct 2020

Venues in the region - many of them funded by Arts Council England - are suffering from "dysfunctional attitudes and practices," workers say.

Arm's-length policy at risk in 'contested heritage' debate

08 Oct 2020

The Government's edicts over controversial statues and other heritage assets are complicating the job of cultural organisations and councils responsible for managing them.

Do better in order to be better

30 Sep 2020

How can the sector better support its Black, Asian and ethnically diverse creative practitioners and workforce? Eclipse Theatre’s Amanda Huxtable shares insights from their report ‘How to plant magic beans AND build rockets to the moon…’

Colston Hall reborn as Bristol Beacon

23 Sep 2020

Bristol Music Trust says the new title reflects a more inclusive narrative where music - not history - "is at the heart of what we do".

Are we measuring competence or class?

A woman standing behind a full clothes rail backstage at a production
15 Sep 2020

Apprenticeships could help level the playing field and help those from less advantaged backgrounds enter the arts and cultural sector, but it isn’t happening. Plain old prejudice is getting in the way, says Sara Whybrew.

Advocating together for Deaf and disabled artists and audiences

Extraordinary Bodies production: ' What Am I Worth?'
15 Sep 2020

We are at a crossroads, says Jamie Beddard. Access, democratisation and engagement must not be sacrificed in the rush to return after the pandemic.

Time to challenge the hierarchies

Rampak Genteng
10 Sep 2020

With the creativity of communities finally becoming a policy priority, arts organisations could be handing more control over to their communities. Adam Pushkin explains why – and how – that could work.

Making progress: towards a citizen-led future

Lesley Cherry’s work replaced a contentious paramilitary mural under the Arts Council of Northern Ireland’s Re-imaging Communities Fund
10 Sep 2020

Cultural democracy is not in the gift of most cultural institutions, but that doesn’t mean there’s no role for them, says Anne Torreggiani.

The battle lines are drawn

We Can Do Better Protest Sign Cardboard
09 Sep 2020

Power has always resided in the hands of the few and in this moment of crisis it is time to fundamentally change the rules of the game to achieve cultural democracy, says Kully Thiarai.

Let the people decide

Local musicians/performers at the 2019 Whitley Bay Carnival
09 Sep 2020

What happens when you put communities in charge of their own creative projects? Ryan Herman found out how residents, rather than local politicians, are making their communities better places to live.

Community: the beating heart of a new arts landscape

Image of a shop front with a sale banner and promotional theatre performance poster
09 Sep 2020

Could an Ambassadors Scheme offer a way of better connecting theatres with their local communities? Hardish Virk has seen positive results in South Asian communities.

Redundancies will make the arts sector whiter, unions warn

04 Sep 2020

Major organisations' silence on claims that job cuts are falling disproportionately on BAME staff stands in stark contrast to a groundswell of disclosures about the ethnic breakdown of workforces.

How Union representation could create a more diverse arts landscape

A painting of grey square block in depicting a city skyline in a quasi-cubism style
03 Sep 2020

The current funding model means a select few decide what art is acceptable. Anthony Padgett argues union representation is the key to unlocking a more culturally rich and inclusive arts industry.

People with privileged pasts twice as likely to hold creative jobs, study finds

28 Aug 2020

New research finds that social mobility is "a greater issue for the creative industries than across the wider economy" - and a pressing concern amid the pandemic.

'Heritage is more than Downton Abbey': RSA and British Council call for 'radical' shake-up of sector

07 Aug 2020

Heritage can grow the UK's post-Covid economy - but only if it starts "telling the stories of more diverse parts of Britain".

Commission to improve diversity of London's statues and streets

28 Jul 2020

The newly-launched inquiry into diversity in the capital's public realm will be guided by Black cultural groups and Arts Council England.

Systemic funding failures: it’s time to fix the fault lines

Image of multiple dollar signs in on a black background
22 Jul 2020

To future-proof the creative sector we must root out systemic funding bias against BAME organisations, says Kevin Osborne, starting with an equitable sharing of the £1.57 billion bailout package.

3 things you can do right now to show you mean ‘Black Lives Matter’

14 Jul 2020

The massive surge in support for the Black Lives Matter movement has everyone busily writing diversity policies, but more important still are some fundamental changes that can be actioned right now, says Sara Whybrew.

Welsh Culture and Race Taskforce launched

06 Jul 2020

The collective seeks to influence decision makers and put race at the forefront of the sector’s recovery, but the Arts Council of Wales says it won’t fund a group ‘set up to lobby us’.

“We need collectivity against structural and institutional racism in the cultural sector”

pencil or charcoal-drawn mural
24 Jun 2020

A collective of Black and Asian artists, curators and educators explains how the impenetrable glass ceiling keeps them on the margins – and why public statements promising reviews, reports and diversity panels cut no ice.

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