Samenua Sesher outlines Arts Council Englands attempts to foster increased diversity in the arts.
Sixty years ago when the Arts Council was first formed, it supported a handful of organisations which, at the time, were the preserve of the elite. In modern Britain the arts need to be relevant to the many and not just the few. For this to happen, artists and arts organisations from diverse backgrounds need both support and the opportunities to create and develop their work. Arts Council England is committed to providing this support and placing diversity at the heart of the arts.
In recent years we have made real progress. More money than ever before is being invested in Black and minority ethnic (BME) artists and arts organisations. Diversity is one of the five aims of our Grants for the Arts funding programme and many new BME applicants have applied to the programme as a result of our decibel funding ambassadors, who proactively promoted our schemes to BME artists and organisations. In 2004/05, 21% of the grants awarded to individuals under the programme were made to people from BME backgrounds. They received 25% of the total monies awarded. Of the grants awarded to organisations, 11% went to BME-led companies and they received 8% of the total amount awarded. These awards have exceeded the targets which we set for ourselves.
However, its not just investment which the BME sector needs. We have been providing support in a number of other ways, from profile raising and networking opportunities to training and development. The main delivery of this has been through our decibel programme. decibel was launched in 2003 as a recognition of diversity in the arts. A national arts programme, decibel has had an impact across artforms with successes in the performing and visual arts, literature and music.
In 2003 and 2005 decibel hosted performing arts showcases for BME artists and companies, providing a much-needed platform for performers to present work to programmers and producers. Both these showcases, held in Manchester in partner-ship with x.trax, engaged a dynamic mix of artists and companies featuring the most exciting theatre, dance, music and live art by BME artists. Attended by delegates from around the world, the showcases led to increased touring for businesses and artists. We are now planning a further showcase for September 2007 in Birmingham.
In the visual arts, decibel has funded the Investment in Artists programme, providing curatorial traineeships and fellowships as well as two-year bursaries to artists for practice- based research. Faisal AbduAllah, who was awarded a bursary under the scheme, is currently artist in residence at the Serpentine, whilst Sarah Raza, a curatorial trainee at the South London Gallery, is now assistant curator of public programmes at Tate Modern. We will be making further visual arts awards later this year.
This is just some of the work which decibel and the Arts Council have done to ensure that we have a more diverse arts sector. The work of decibel complements other important work being undertaken. In 2005 we published a far-reaching race equality scheme, setting out an assurance that all of our policies and procedures will take race equality into consideration. We are also working with our regularly funded organisations to help them develop their own race equality schemes.
Looking to the future, we have a number of programmes committed to creating more opportunities for BME artists. Our visual arts strategy, to be published later this month, will set out a number of recommendations to increase diversity within this area. In theatre we are committed to establishing a long-term strategy for the future of BME theatre based upon the recommendations of the recently published Whose theatre&? report. This includes the proposal to establish a minimum of four networked spaces for the BME sector to develop and showcase their work. The Cultural Leadership Programme will work to support future BME cultural leaders. One of the programmes six strands of work, called Powerbrokers, will look at tackling the barriers that frustrate the progress of BME people in cultural organisations through a combination of direct support and advocacy.
By building on the progress already made, work such as this will ensure that diversity becomes part of the mainstream within the arts. n
Samenua Sesher is Director of decibel at Arts Council England.
w: http://www.artscouncil.org.uk.