The Role of Visual Arts Organisations in the British Black Arts Movement in the Midlands
Lead Research Organisation:
Coventry University
Department Name: Ctr for Arts, Memory and Communities
Abstract
The birth of the British Black Arts Movement (BAM) in the early 1980s was responsible for a paradigm shift in UK art history, bringing to the fore the issues, concerns, practices and aesthetics of marginalised artists. Despite racial bias being recognised and acted upon (e.g., Equality Act 2010), racism is still a reality in British society. The systemic inequality in the representation of Black art history in Britain has come to the fore in the recent months, especially within debates around the killing of George Lloyd in the US, the Black Lives Matter protests, and the fall of the statue of slave trader Edward Colston. However, the history of the BAM and the role of cultural organisations in its development remain understudied. In preparation for the 40th anniversary of The First Black Art Convention in Wolverhampton (1982), this project aims to revisit and promote the region's unique and exceptional legacy in the development of the Black art scene, with a special focus on the role of cultural organisations in supporting artists of colour in the Midlands since the 1980s. The network will disseminate the impact of the BAM in the region, and foster a change of attitudes in the cultural sector towards a more equitable scene by identifying the challenges faced by artists of colour today and proposing recommendations to cultural organisations, policy-makers and advocacy groups.
The network activities will benefit academics in the fields of visual arts, curating and Black studies; and non-academic audience working in the cultural sector and on non-for-profit organisations supporting artists of colour. The network activities include: two workshops 1) the first invites members of the BAM to explore the role of cultural organisations in the movement in the 1980s, providing new insights; 2) the second invites practitioners of colour to identify challenges and opportunities in the field for a more diverse and inclusive approach. The workshops will be followed by a public event to open the finds and recommendations to a wider public. Both workshops and event will be recorded and disseminated via the project blog that will outlive the funded period to continue benefitting scholars and practitioners working in the fields of art history, curating, institutional practices, visual cultures, museum studies, visual arts, and Black studies. Following up on these debates, the network will produce an advocacy document with recommendations for a more equitable art programming, workforce and audience development in the cultural sector, which will be effectively disseminated to funding bodies and policy-makers (Arts Council England; Contemporary Visual Arts Network; Midlands Higher Education Culture Forum). In addition, two papers will be published in peer-reviewed academic journals to benefit other scholars in the field, disseminate new knowledge, and influence related debates.
The project will be led by PI Professor Carolina Rito and Co-I Professor Paul Goodwin. The network also counts upon the participation of academics and art practitioners of colour whose work has strongly contributed to a more equitable and diverse scene and has focused on the BAM (i.e., Agency for Agency, Dr Keith Piper, Dr David Dibosa, Marlene Smith); with Midlands groups promoting inclusion led by people of colour (Maokwo, Nottingham Black Archive); and four contemporary art galleries in the Midlands with relevant experience with the BAM (the Herbert Gallery and Museum, Wolverhampton Gallery, Nottingham Contemporary and New Art Exchange.)
The network activities will benefit academics in the fields of visual arts, curating and Black studies; and non-academic audience working in the cultural sector and on non-for-profit organisations supporting artists of colour. The network activities include: two workshops 1) the first invites members of the BAM to explore the role of cultural organisations in the movement in the 1980s, providing new insights; 2) the second invites practitioners of colour to identify challenges and opportunities in the field for a more diverse and inclusive approach. The workshops will be followed by a public event to open the finds and recommendations to a wider public. Both workshops and event will be recorded and disseminated via the project blog that will outlive the funded period to continue benefitting scholars and practitioners working in the fields of art history, curating, institutional practices, visual cultures, museum studies, visual arts, and Black studies. Following up on these debates, the network will produce an advocacy document with recommendations for a more equitable art programming, workforce and audience development in the cultural sector, which will be effectively disseminated to funding bodies and policy-makers (Arts Council England; Contemporary Visual Arts Network; Midlands Higher Education Culture Forum). In addition, two papers will be published in peer-reviewed academic journals to benefit other scholars in the field, disseminate new knowledge, and influence related debates.
The project will be led by PI Professor Carolina Rito and Co-I Professor Paul Goodwin. The network also counts upon the participation of academics and art practitioners of colour whose work has strongly contributed to a more equitable and diverse scene and has focused on the BAM (i.e., Agency for Agency, Dr Keith Piper, Dr David Dibosa, Marlene Smith); with Midlands groups promoting inclusion led by people of colour (Maokwo, Nottingham Black Archive); and four contemporary art galleries in the Midlands with relevant experience with the BAM (the Herbert Gallery and Museum, Wolverhampton Gallery, Nottingham Contemporary and New Art Exchange.)
People |
ORCID iD |
| Carolina Rito (Principal Investigator) | |
| Paul Goodwin (Co-Investigator) |
Publications
| Description | Findings and recommendations Institutional Structures This section identified challenges at the level of the organisational structure. Diversity Work as Add-on It is common to see cultural programming designed to attract underrepresented groups within cultural institutions. However, these activities tend to sit within a specific department of the organisation (e.g., learning departments) and/or be the responsibility of a small team or one individual (e.g., engagement curator). The segregation of the Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion agenda (commonly referred to as EDI) seems to perceive the work against systemic racism as an add-on to the core activities of the organisation. Ephemeral relationships When the work with local groups relies on the efforts of one employee or a small group of employees, the relationships with local communities can become vulnerable and be frequently disrupted. Triggered by low salaries and casual work conditions, the turnover of staff to a different position in the organisation or to a new institution creates a gap between the relationships developed by these individuals and the local groups. The diversity work is often supported by short-term grants for which new staff members are employed for the duration of the project. The precarity of community work affects the way these groups relate to the institution and dents their sense of trust in them. Partition of 'change' from wider social contexts There is a general perception that equality, diversity, and inclusion are areas of work within cultural organisations instead of a systemic approach to racially biased structures within society at large, in which institutions play a significant role. Segregating the diversity agenda - usually in the learning department or as the responsibility of a community engagement curator - is not conducive to the structural changes required to promote a cultural scene beyond racial divides. Moreover, these pieces of work are frequently funded by short-term one-off funding streams. The changes need to be implemented across the organisation in a systematic way affecting all areas of its workings. The work should be implemented at the level of the board of trustees, recruitment, staff development, curatorial programme, and audience development. Incomplete archives Cultural activities should be documented, archived, and accessible to the public. Although there have been efforts to systemise the archiving of the projects and activities organised, there has been an inconsistent approach to archiving. It is important that organisations acknowledge their responsibility in keeping an archive of their activities accessible to the public. Significantly, the work of Black and Global Majority archivists, documentarians, and researchers is often side-lined and ignored by many cultural institutions, further undermining the depth and strength of how these archives serve their diverse publics. Funding Structures This section includes challenges posed by funding structures external to the organisations with a considerable impact on the functioning of these organisations. Discontinuity of the funding Funding structures tend to support individual projects instead of long-term processes. A project-by-project approach is not conducive to the implementation of a body of work that needs to be integral to the workings of the organisations, cross-departmental (from curatorial programming to marketing), and long-term. The discontinuity of funding affects three main areas: staff structure, audience's perception and engagement, and programming. 1. Staff Structure The project's funding is usually used to grow capacity and recruit new staff. The new staff members have a temporary contract for the duration of the project only, as institutions tend to have difficulties in securing further work for occasional staff. The work done by these individuals relies on personal relationships and building trustworthy relationships. However, once these individuals leave the organisation, these relationships and networks are interrupted. 2. Audience's perception and engagement At the level of audiences, the transitory staff situation affects audience's trust in the institutions as the relationship is built by one individual or a small group. This also increases the risks of tokenism. 3. Curatorial programme The curatorial programme approaches diversity as a topic and comes and goes depending on funding. The project-by-project approach compromises the continuity, quality and depth of the work done. Moreover, it puts the work developed in jeopardy after funds are terminated and staff leaves. Arguably, a project-by-project programming is more prone to a tokenist approach, where outcomes need to be demonstrated to justify the funds. External Funding Dependency The funding question and challenges go beyond the nature of this project. The survival of institutions is more and more dependent on external funding and income generation. Having to apply for extra sums of money to fund the on-going programme - not additional programme - is becoming a common practice. For this reason, development teams have increased whereas curatorial teams have gone the opposite way. Depending on external funding for survival puts an enormous pressure on institutions that need to meet the funders' criteria (which may well diverge from the institutions' priorities) and put resources aside for the funding process, or else they risk not being successful and losing the resources invested. In addition, it compromises the stability of the work in progress and generates a sense of uncertainty that affects the whole organisation and not least staff. The funding challenges put institutions under unnecessary pressure and compromise long-term approaches to fundamental changes. Critical Infrastructures In the last three years, questions around the coloniality of institutions of display have been part of the demands for a more equitable sector. What these demands highlighted was not only the need to decolonise the canon, but, more importantly, to come to terms with the ties between the foundations of exhibitionary practices and colonialism. The birth of museums in the nineteenth century was instrumental for the consolidation of the colonial project to establish European superiority over other cultures across the world. Artefacts, most of the times illegally brought to Europe from colonial territories, are made public in museums of natural history, ethnography, archaeology, and art. Issues related to the restitution of collection items, to funders' ties to the slave trade, and the legitimacy of guardianship have been under discussion. Cultural organisations need to address these complex questions and actualise the role of their organisations accordingly. The work expected from cultural organisations today goes beyond cosmetic changes. An in-depth understanding of the role of these organisations today is essential. The work that needs doing requires a structural change which in turn requires organisations to think through their real purpose and role. Given the issues identified above with regards to the time pressure, the external funding dependence, and the casual work, institutions have difficulty finding the time to reflect on the work done, ask questions, and rehearse answers. These discussions happen not only internally with staff, but also between them and their audiences. Moreover, the imperative to deliver public facing outputs that governs the sector makes it difficult for organisations to argue for resources needed to support the active investment in a critical infrastructure. A clear consequence is the lack of expertise in key topical areas such as decolonial practices and studies, and Black studies. It is important to create robust research-informed culture, to move away from a reactive culture and, instead, stimulate a pondered one. Recommendations Institutional Structures ? Provide training for all staff on equality, decolonial practices and critical thinking. ? Implement the EDI agenda across the organisation including board of trustees. ? Establish a set of institutional values that are specific to your organisation, identify how the values would impact your work and what an institution that stands by those values would look like. ? Establish a tenure of no more than five years for directors and no more than two years for board of trustees. This allows rotation at the senior management and board level necessary for the renewal of ideas and to expand the networks. ? Diversify the points of contact with local communities to avoid the relationship being impacted by staff turnover. Strengthen archival practices and its relationships to communities and artists by engaging more with Black archival practices and practitioners. Funding Structures ? Encourage more long-term grants that allow structural change and long-term investment. ? Promote funding opportunities to create critical infrastructures instead of output-focus. ? Create funding opportunities where priorities are established by the organisations. Critical Infrastructures ? Create a critical infrastructure based on closed-door activities, incentives, and public programming focusing on the developing of a critical platform to interrogate the function of the organisation, the current challenges, and to design practical ways to tackle the issues. ? Establish collaborative research programmes with universities and researchers. The project also identified understudied research areas to complement research in the field. These topics include but are not limited to: ? The genealogies of black curation ? The effects of the pandemic on the EDI agenda ? The post-BLM protests in policy and business as usual institutional approach ? How to decolonialise the collection? ? Critical Black instituting practices |
| Exploitation Route | The findings and recommendations are aimed at cultural sector organisations; cultural funders; cultural policymakers; researchers in Black studies, museum studies, curating, and cultural policies; and practicing artists and curators. The recommendations were divided in areas of action to reflect the different issues encountered: institutional structures, funding structures, and critical infrastructures. |
| Sectors | Culture Heritage Museums and Collections |
| URL | https://pureportal.coventry.ac.uk/en/publications/the-changing-same-british-black-artists-and-visual-arts-organisat |
| Description | Since the publication of The Changing Same? British Black Artists and Visual Arts Organisations in the Midlands, Critical Practices Talks about the Black Arts Movement in the Midlands, the interview on BBC Radio, and the public event about the AHRC-funded project, I have been given the opportunity to contribute to an edited volume on slavery and museums, organised by Sorbonne Université Paris 8. The manuscript was accepted last year, and I am awaiting its publication this year by Liverpool University Press. Building on the diversity piece and recommendations for programming and museums, I was also invited to deliver a series of non-academic workshops on curatorial practices, museum histories, and contested histories/memories in cultural institutions. One of these workshops will take place in March 2025 in Mindelo, São Vicente, Cape Verde. The invitation came from the former director of the National Centre for Arts, Crafts and Design, in collaboration with the local artist collective BLI and their gallery, ZEROPOINT Art. Designed as a Continuing Professional Development programme and free to attend, the workshop welcomes 10 local practitioners, including artists, curators, and museum professionals, for a week-long programme focused on the critical role of curatorial practices within museums. The sessions will emphasise addressing contested memories and histories, fostering professional growth, and promoting cross-cultural exchange. This opportunity enables participants to enhance their curatorial knowledge, gain hands-on experience, and strengthen their professional skills. The programme will be organised in collaboration with the National Centre for Arts and Crafts in Mindelo. The second planned workshop is in May 2025, an invitation from the Director of the Malhoa and Ceramic Museum in Portugal to devise a series of sessions with the museum staff, aimed at shifting their approach to contested histories, the function of museums, innovation, and change. What Are Museums For? is a workshop for museum professionals that explores the original functions of museums, their development over time, and their role in the present day. The sessions will provide an opportunity to reflect on the evolving roles of museums, the adaptations required, and how museums can play a more active role in society as inclusive, fair, and critical forums. |
| First Year Of Impact | 2024 |
| Sector | Leisure Activities, including Sports, Recreation and Tourism,Culture, Heritage, Museums and Collections |
| Impact Types | Cultural Societal |
| Description | Black Curation AHRC M4C CDA PhD studentship |
| Organisation | Herbert Museum and Art Gallery |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | I have devised the PhD proposal and am Director of Studies for this PhD research. |
| Collaborator Contribution | The Herbert co-supervise the research and participate in the research design. |
| Impact | n/a |
| Start Year | 2021 |
| Description | The Herbert Memorandum of Understanding |
| Organisation | Herbert Museum and Art Gallery |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | Carolina Rito and the Herbert former director Francis Ranford established a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Centre for Arts, Memory and Communities and the Herbert that formalised and furthered the joint commitment to creating opportunities to build a more equitable cultural and university sectors. Carolina brings to the partnership her experience in EDI in the cultural sector, research in decolonial practices and Black studies. Carolina as co-developed several projects with the partner organisation on the Black Arts Movement in the Midlands and the Herbert's archive. Carolina chairs a steering group with representatives from both organisations, meeting annually to identify and co-develop ambitious projects. |
| Collaborator Contribution | The Herbert is committed to creating opportunities to build a more equitable cultural and university sectors, co-develop research projects on equity and the Black Arts Movement in the region. |
| Impact | City of Culture Staff Grants - PI Carolina Rito; partner organisations The Herbert and MAOKWO - 2021 AHRC CDA M4C PhD grant - Director of Studies Carolina Rito; partner organisation The Herbert. 2021-2025 |
| Start Year | 2021 |
| Description | Interview and Roundtable |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | As part of the Coventry Biennial 2021, Ian Sergeant curated a public discussion exploring the BLK Art Group and their legacy with Keith Piper and Marlene Smith, moderated by Carolina Rito. Speakers include: Carolina Rito, Professor of Creative Practice Research, at the Research Centre for Arts, Memory and Communities (CAMC), at Coventry University Keith Piper, artist, Associate Professor in Fine Art at Middlesex University Marlene Smith, artist, Associate Artist at Modern Art Oxford |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mW-2FsQ_M_4&list=PLwLPjXTfgoSPlmGZHFLVH7zU4aK3REkCC&index=2 |
| Description | Roundtable and Book Launch |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Book launch of the project's publication hosted by the co-I's organisation, free to attend, with the participation of professional practitioners in the field, and partners. The event sparked questions and discussions about diversity policies in the cultural sector and the potential of collabroations with academia. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| URL | https://pureportal.coventry.ac.uk/en/activities/the-changing-same-roundtable-and-book-launch |
| Description | Workshop Informal Institutional Structures |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Circa 15 professional practitioners attended the event at a cultural organisation and expressed intereste in the project. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Workshop Institutional Change |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | 10 cultural sector professionals attended and working group members of the project, at a cultural organisation. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |