Meet The 'Whose Culture' Team
For those of you who don’t know, things are changing in Team Rising – our numbers are expanding and the studio space is starting to feel a bit cosier (!). We’ve been working hard the past few months, developing projects such as OnBoard, Elevate and Open Up, but now it’s time to give the spotlight to one of our flagship projects: #WhoseCulture!
Whose Culture is a creative data-mapping project looking to fill the data gap that currently exists around how young people of colour interact with Bristol’s cultural sector, as audiences, staff or producers. At the moment, across the city, organisations from every sector have no evidence to guide them in engagement or support work, and a significant proportion of the city’s population is left ignored and under-served. That’s where the #WhoseCulture team come in.
We’re on a mission to bring young people of colour to the forefront – paying particular attention to young people living in communities in Bristol that have been identified both as key areas of ‘deprivation’ and as having low cultural engagement in the city: St. Pauls, Lawrence Hill, Whitchurch Park and Southmead. So let’s meet the people that are making change happen!
Roseanna Dias – Whose Culture Project Coordinator
Hi, I’m Roseanna and I’m a freelance multidisciplinary creative producer who is passionate about making the cultural sector more inclusive, in particular supporting opportunities for minority ethnic artists and audiences.
Working with organisations like Watershed, Trinity Community Arts and Rising Arts Agency, I specialise in creative engagement projects which nurture new talent across film, theatre, dance, visual arts and digital media.
At Rising, I’m coordinating the ‘Whose Culture’ project, bringing all the people, resources and ideas together to make the project a reality.
This is an amazing chance to create a platform for young people of colour to have their say about culture in Bristol. I’m so excited to be a part of changing the face of Bristol’s arts scene – in what is produced, who is producing it, and who it is aimed at. I hope this will bring us all one step closer to achieving equality in the city’s creative and cultural networks.
Fatima Safana – Whose Culture Marketing Manager
I am Fatima , I am a freelance fashion illustrator, I love exploring and making art especially art relating to my cultural heritage. At Rising, I am part of the ‘Whose Culture’ project. I am responsible for managing the social media platforms. It involves creating and curating content, growing the online community and learning what culture means to them.
To me, culture represents my faith, my family and community. ‘Whose Culture’ is an important project because learning what culture means to others is the first step in delivering a more inclusive cultural experience in Bristol to reflect the real diversity of the city. I am excited to be part of this opportunity to make a difference in the cultural sector.
Kamina Walton – Rising Arts Agency Director
Hello, I’m Kamina and I am the Director of Rising Arts Agency. As well as that, I am an artist and creative producer who has been working in Bristol’s creative sector for nearly thirty years.
‘Whose Culture’ grew out of a conversation betweenZahra Ash Harper and myself. She saw the need for data collection that reflected the engagement of young people of colour around the city and recognised Rising’s ambition and thought that we could make a good partnership. That conversation was in October 2016 – and since then, the development of this initial idea has exceeded our expectations. With combined support from the Jean Golding Institute for our pilot phase and two year’s development funding from Bristol City Council’s Cultural Investment Programme, ‘Whose Culture’ is now firmly on the map.
In exploring the potential for this project, the emphasis and the urgency around the need to support young people of colour in the city has become really apparent. This isn’t just through ‘Whose Culture’, but it’s seeped into everything that we do at Rising. What I’m really overjoyed about is that we’re now getting young people of colour approaching us, and saying they’ve seen the website and they want to be a part of Rising because they recognise themselves in our artists’ cohort.