50 years on from Arts Britain Ignores: how much has changed for black and Asian artists? — SkimNews
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- Naseem Khan's 1976 report "The Arts Britain Ignores," commissioned by the then Arts Council of Great Britain, documented how grassroots ethnic minority arts — from bhangra to black painting to Ukrainian dance — were ignored by funders and critics.
- The Serendipity Institute for Black Arts and Heritage is hosting a Wednesday conference in Leicester titled "The Arts Britain Ignores: 50 Years On," bringing together artists, organisations, experts and policymakers.
- Dawn Airey, the new chair of Arts Council England, will give her inaugural speech at the conference, praising Khan for telling institutions that their funding structures, buildings, critics and canon "leave whole swathes" of British art out.
- Pawlet Brookes, chief executive of Serendipity Institute, said a timeline investigation for the new book shows funding for culturally diverse organisations has existed but lacked "sustainability and growth," and called for recognition of dance and theatre to match the progress in visual arts.
- The conference marks the launch of a new book, "The Arts Britain Ignores at 50," published by Serendipity Institute with essays and new research.
- Airey is also expected to say racism, Islamophobia and antisemitism are "part of daily life for too many people" in the arts sector, and that those who don't experience it have "a responsibility" to act, "not just words."
Why it matters: The new Arts Council England chair is signalling anti-racism and ethnic diversity will be central to her tenure — but Serendipity Institute's own research shows that 50 years of advocacy have produced funding for diverse organisations without the sustainability and growth needed to match, a gap that arrives as community and independent cultural spaces face financial pressures, redevelopment and gentrification.
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