The role of the arts and memory in mixed ethnicity Self-formation

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Mixed ethnicity people (i.e. people whose parents/ancestorsare from different ethnic backgrounds) have been a fastgrowing demographic in the UK in recent years (highlighted bythe 2001 and 2011 censuses). Due to continuous mediaattention, with many public figures advocating for increasedrecognition of mixed ethnicity as a distinct group, there is apressing need for research into their diverse experiences andidentification (Aspinall and Song, 2013). This PhD project willexamine how individuals of mixed Black/White and Asian/Whiteethnicity come to understand their ethnicity inconsuming/engaging with the arts (here specifically, reactionsto art exhibitions exploring mixed identity such as The Renoexhibition at The Whitworth, as well as explorations of mixedidentity in 21st century literature such as Chandra Prasad'sMixed: An Anthology of Short Fiction on the MultiracialExperience and Patrice Lawrence's Orangeboy). In examiningthis it aims to produce new knowledge of the culturalhistory/memory and processes behind the formation ofcontemporary mixed ethnic identity. Through critical discourseanalysis and focus groups, this research will examine theexperiences of the arts surrounding mixed ethnicity individualsin contemporary British society, and where they then positionthemselves between competing discourses of identity.