WE ARE HERE - Our Whose Culture Campaign

Find out more about our latest Whose Culture campaign for young people of colour in Bristol, click here to get involved in the survey!

In the come-down from the epic ‘Why Are We Not Here’ (WAWNH) exhibition at Spike Island Open Studios 2019, we’ve been thinking. WAWNH was about exploring the power of representation – what it means to feel seen and be reflected and what that does for a community of artists. The exhibition proved to be a powerful statement and it was brilliant to witness a whole host of young people from different walks of life leaving feeling motivated to create change, to challenge the status quo and take up space in their lives and in their practice.

Through the discussions we’ve been having as part of Whose Culture, we’ve connected with dozens of young people of colour who feel similarly about the way arts and culture happens in the city. We are tired of having to fight to take up space. Tired of feeling like an ‘add-on’ to fill a diversity quota, tired of feeling like the only contribution we can make to an event or exhibition centres around our difference.

We’re tired of feeling like unicorns in cultural spaces – despite there being hundreds of us in the city; talented, engaged and hungry to change the narrative. Bristol is a ‘Future City’ and an ‘Open Data City’, yet there is a lack of data on the cultural engagement of young people of colour readily available and we want to change that.

The lack of stats on our cultural engagement does nothing but erase us further from the narrative of arts and culture in city. Despite us being here in the dozens and hundreds, we are made to feel disconnected from the city’s cultural offer. But we are here.

Rising’s ‘Whose Culture?’ team have been working hard for the past 12 months running events, making content and hosting labs to explore the ways that we can take ownership of our own data and how to let the city know that we are here.

Being an artist of colour shouldn’t feel like a revolutionary act. That’s why we’re starting a campaign, We ARE Here – celebrating the YPoc who are here, making waves and changing the arts narrative. We want to shine a light on the brilliant talent coming from Bristol. We want to empower other young creatives of colour who may feel alone. We want redefine what it means to consume and create culture in this city.

If you’re a young person (16-25) of colour in Bristol – we want to hear from you. Tell us what you care about, share your work with us and help us build a network of brilliant young people who are here. Click here to go to the survey!