October 24 this year marked the eagerly awaited launch of the decibel Visual Arts Platform at the Watershed in Bristol. For the benefit of those who were unable to attend, Denrele Ogunwa reports back on a landmark event.
In an introduction to the Platform, Samenua Sesher, decibel programme manager, was quick to point out that in an increasingly visual society “we can’t pretend that we don’t understand the impact of visual absence and casual stereotyping. There are reasons why there are so few African, Asian, Caribbean and Chinese artists’ names tripping off our tongues. We want this launch to serve as a reminder as to why we need this platform.” A total of £740,000 is being devoted to a programme, which invests in arts practitioners from culturally diverse backgrounds and stimulates critical debate around cultural diversity in the visual arts.
Over a quarter of a million pounds is going directly to artists. Three curatorial positions comprise one fellowship at £50,000 over two years and two trainee positions at £15,000 each over a year. The curatorial fellowship has been set up to help an experienced curator gain a vital foothold in the highly competitive mainstream and national galleries. The traineeships are aimed at new or emerging curators who are early in their careers and need more on the job experience and access to a wider professional network. The development of curators is a crucial step in changing the landscape, placing those with expertise and knowledge in positions where they can make a real difference to future exhibitions and practice.
There are also six artists’ awards each of £30,000 allocated over two years to fund practice-based research for culturally diverse artists. The awards are open to artists working in any medium who have not previously won a major award. Calls are already going out for artists to get involved. The work generated by these awards will further enhance the body of art already being produced by Black Minority Ethnic (BME) artists in this country and give the award recipients valuable research and development opportunities.
To provide a better understanding of the difficulties that African, Asian and Caribbean artists face, decibel will also be supporting research into the under-representation of culturally diverse artists in mainstream galleries. This will help the Arts Council’s drive for culturally diverse artists to get more of their work seen. Its findings will be integral to future policy developments.
Some difficult questions have arisen. Are current attitudes of mainstream arts institutions towards culturally diverse arts practitioners inherently racist? Why are the contributions of culturally diverse artists to British art history, for the most part, invisible? Phillip Deverell, decibel project manager explains, “It is important not to steer clear of the big issues. The establishment networks, systems and barriers which exclude artists and curators of culturally diverse backgrounds from our mainstream galleries and institutions need to be re-assessed.”
The case for continuous dialogue and greater visibility was strengthened by artist David A. Bailey’s Back to Black – a video exhibition showing the work of culturally diverse artists over the past 90 years. The presentation was, in the words of one attendee, “like an alternative history of art lesson.” The piece featured interviews and work from many practitioners; Sonya Boyce, Rasheed Araeen, Steve McQueen and Chris Ofili, among others. It showed the wealth of art that has already been created by black and Asian artists, and reminded everyone that through the lack of exposure of this work, the public were being denied the right to enjoy a wealth of creativity and innovation.
There was a real buzz in the theatre hall of the Watershed after the presentation and in the ensuing discussion about the work of culturally diverse artists in Britain. The discussion, led by Bailey, cultural critic, Kodwo Eshun and television producer, Parminder Vir, kept coming back to the particularly thorny question of visibility for culturally diverse work.
Over the coming months the critical debates strand of the platform will help to keep the dialogue alive through an online debate and in the media. This will in turn feed in to a second public debate scheduled for March 2004.
In all, it was felt by the visual artists, curators and representatives from galleries and arts organisations who attended the event that if decibel could achieve all that it had set out to, then this could go a long way to changing things for the better.
If you are an artist or curator interested in applying for the fellowships and awards please send your contact details to Tina Ajuonuma at Arts Council England, 14 Great Peter Street, London SW1P 3NQ or by email to decibel.info@artscouncil.org.uk
More information will be available in December.
The decibel page is prepared by Arts Council England. Find extra information at http://www.decibel-db.org
Denrele Ogunwa is Communications Officer for Arts Council England’s decibel project. t: 020 7973 6421; e: denrele.ogunwa@artscouncil.org.uk