Tackling structural racism: Whose Culture?

by Kamina Walton

If you are someone who has been paying attention to the news recently, it cannot have escaped your notice that Britain has a problem with structural racial discrimination. In the past few weeks we have seen media attention circulate around the ‘Windrush scandal’, the anniversary of the murder of Stephen Lawrence, and #JusticeForJudah. The stories are largely unpleasant, but awareness of them is necessary – the fact that we are still hearing stories like this highlights that though we like to claim that we are making progress towards true racial equality, there is still much, much more that needs to be done across the board.

When I see stories like this, I can’t help but think of the young people of colour we work with at Rising—as well as the ones we’re not yet managing to reach. If these narratives of pain and discrimination are all that we are hearing at the moment, what message is that sending to them? And what are their realities, living in a city which was declared the most segregated in the UK?

When I look at the industry that I, myself, am a part of, I do not see the diversity and inclusion that we hear so much about. Bristol is a vibrant, dynamic and diverse city with a thriving creative sector, but the workforce remains disproportionately unrepresentative of the city’s cultural make-up. What position does that leave young creatives of colour in—those who are trying to progress in their careers but are unable to find pathways or opportunities? This is by no means a ‘Bristol’ or a ‘South-West problem’, but there are young people on our doorsteps who are continuously marginalised in the arts and beyond and we need to do more.

I have been working in Bristol’s creative sector for more than thirty years now and although there has been a lot of work to diversify the arts as a whole, sadly, not enough has changed. There are some great initiatives, such as Bristol Cable’s latest focus on Diversifying the Media, and so many potential opportunities where these young people could bring value to the sector, enriching it through their experience and ideas. But so often they unfortunately can’t gain the initial access or don’t know how to begin building their networks.  This is partly why we came up with our Whose Culture project—it is a means of connecting young people of colour in the city to creative individuals, organisations and opportunities, giving them a voice, paying them for their knowledge and expertise, while supporting them to showcase their own work.

Why Is Whose Culture  Needed Now More Than Ever?

As a part of this project, we want to disrupt the current status quo within some of the most established creative institutions, making them more accessible and inclusive for everyone, leading through direct consultation with young people. One of the key things missing from the industry is the centering of young artists (especially those from BAME backgrounds) and the creation of paid work pathways into the creative sector for them. For me, it’s about putting the power into their hands to shape the industries that they want to be a part of, creating a bridge between them and the traditional cultural institutions, enabling these conversations to happen.

We mean business. Although finding the right answers is important, we need to be asking the right questions: ‘Who does this culture belong to?’, ‘What would a more inclusive arts sectors look like?’, ‘What needs to be done to achieve this?’. We are on a mission to bring young people of colour to the forefront, paying particular attention to those young people living in communities in Bristol that have been identified both as key areas of deprivation and as having low cultural engagement: St. Pauls, Lawrence Hill, Whitchurch Park and Southmead.

We want to get as many young people of colour involved as possible.

With the Cultural Investment Programme funding awarded from Bristol City Council we are running a full 2 year programme of Whose Culture and in that time, we want to make a real impact. We are offering paid roles for project coordination and social media, and for steering group members and workshop leaders, to ensure that the whole project is co-authored and curated by the young people we want to work with, and that they are compensated for their time and expertise.

There are some really positive things happening in Bristol at the moment to change the narrative around race and inclusion, and I’m excited that Rising can continue to contribute to that changing narrative.

Stay tuned,
Kamina, Team Rising