The Role of Visual Arts Organisations in the British Black Arts Movement in the Midlands

20世纪80年代初，英国黑人艺术运动（BAM）的诞生导致了英国艺术史上的范式转变，将边缘化艺术家的问题、关注、实践和美学带到风口浪尖。尽管种族偏见被承认并采取了行动（例如，《2010年平等法案》），但种族主义仍然是英国社会的现实。近几个月来，英国黑人艺术史在表现上的系统性不平等已经凸显出来，尤其是在围绕乔治·劳埃德（George Lloyd）在美国被杀、“黑人的命也是命”（Black Lives Matter）抗议活动以及奴隶贩子爱德华·科尔斯顿（Edward Colston）雕像倒塌的辩论中。然而，BAM的历史和文化组织在其发展中的作用仍未得到充分研究。为了筹备1982年伍尔弗汉普顿第一届黑人艺术大会40周年，该项目旨在重新审视和促进该地区在黑人艺术领域发展中独特而卓越的遗产，特别关注自20世纪80年代以来文化组织在支持中部地区有色艺术家方面的作用。该网络将在该地区传播BAM的影响，并通过识别有色人种艺术家今天面临的挑战，向文化组织、政策制定者和倡导团体提出建议，促进文化部门对更公平的场景的态度转变。网络活动将使视觉艺术、策展和黑人研究领域的学者受益；以及在文化部门和支持有色人种艺术家的非营利组织工作的非学术观众。网络活动包括：两个工作坊1)第一个工作坊邀请BAM的成员探讨文化组织在1980年代运动中的作用，提供新的见解；2)第二部分邀请有色人种从业者识别该领域的挑战和机遇，以采取更加多样化和包容性的方法。讲习班之后将举行公众活动，向更广泛的公众开放发现和建议。研讨会和活动都将通过项目博客进行记录和传播，这些博客将在资助期结束后继续使艺术史、策展、机构实践、视觉文化、博物馆研究、视觉艺术和黑人研究领域的学者和从业者受益。在这些辩论的后续工作中，该网络将制作一份倡导文件，其中建议在文化部门实现更公平的艺术规划、劳动力和观众发展，并将有效地传播给资助机构和决策者（英格兰艺术委员会；当代视觉艺术网络；中部高等教育文化论坛）。此外，两篇论文将在同行评议的学术期刊上发表，以使该领域的其他学者受益，传播新知识，并影响相关辩论。该项目将由PI教授Carolina Rito和Co-I教授Paul Goodwin领导。该网络还依赖于有色人种的学者和艺术从业者的参与，他们的工作对更公平和多样化的场景做出了巨大贡献，并专注于BAM（即Agency for Agency， Keith Piper博士，David Dibosa博士，Marlene Smith）；与米德兰兹以有色人种为首的促进包容的团体合作（Maokwo，诺丁汉黑人档案馆）；中部地区的四家当代艺术画廊（赫伯特画廊和博物馆、伍尔弗汉普顿画廊、诺丁汉当代和新艺术交流中心）都有与BAM相关的经验。

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.)