The arts scene is harming marginalised communities – where do we go from here?

It’s a tough time to be a marginalised person and in the arts: groups like disabled, racialised and working class artists are finding the sector bleaker and bleaker by the day. Between lack of funding, declining representation and shifts in politics, more and more writers, artists and other creatives are finding it increasingly impossible to work on their craft.

Where is all the money?

It feels at the moment that every time you open Instagram, another arts organisation, charity or group is telling us they have lost their funding or haven’t got the funds they should have met the criteria for.

How do we keep working class, disabled and racialised creatives going, and how do we make sure that more of them can make a career from their craft? 

Organisations like Queer Youth Art Collective, providing amazing opportunities, have announced losses of funding or failures to renew funding, whilst many arts organisations have been left in limbo due to this year’s Arts Council England portal crash, receiving less money or being left unpaid.

For many of these organisations, their creation was out of necessity in an industry that feels that minority groups and marginalised people do not fit in the mainstream, seeing us as niche, unprofitable, or not seeing our worth. If we cannot fit in with them, but the industry refuses to fund our own endeavours, where does that leave us?

Rebecca Kenny, from Written Off Publishing, posted on Instagram talking about these issues, sparking conversation on the platform amongst many creatives – but this conversation has been avoided in the mainstream media. Speaking to us about funding, she said:

Funding is inaccessible for neurodivergent artists, dyslexic artists, parents / carers, mentally unwell artists and those in poverty. The forms are convoluted, lengthy and require time and space that is often not afforded to marginalised artists. For example, the Arts Council England form can take upwards of two complete days to fill out. It is intensive. For disabled artists, this can result in chronic flare-ups and burnout. For neurodivergent artists it can result in breakdown. No funding application should ever do that. 

Wealthier artists work with bid writers, but again, this is privilege used to gain opportunity… Many marginalised artists work full-time and do their artistic endeavours alongside this. Many of them are parents. When are they able to give their focus to this?

More barriers

And it isn’t just about individual accessibility – there are clear patterns further disempowering working class creatives when it comes to funding, including that of Arts Council England, particularly visible in the north-south divide. Living in the Midlands or the North can make being a creative fundamentally harder, with less opportunities or networking chances, but a recent report by IPPR found that the north of England received £383.5 million through the core Arts Council England funding streams for 2022-26, compared to London, which received £458.6 million.

Bectu’s Big Survey surveyed over 5,500 workers in creative industries in non-performing roles to look at where jobs are going, finding that three quarters of all workers said they got a job through a contact in the last year and a half, with only 37% saying their position was publicly advertised. 45% of disabled workers concealed information about things like their diagnosis or situation, showing the impact of bias in these industries. 

Experiencing oppression in the arts is going hand in hand with lack of funding, lack of connections, and being ostracised. 

Is representation getting worse?

A decline in opportunities for marginalised artists and writers is not just about our careers or money, it’s about the impact on consumers and the state of representation overall. Everyone deserves to see themselves in media and the arts, and the unique experiences and barriers faced by marginalised individuals must be seen and discussed.

In October, Inclusive Books for Children launched their newest Excluded Voices report, which found that only around 6% of books featured main characters from marginalised backgrounds, including an extreme decline in those with Black protagonists at 1.9% of books for those age 9 and under. Only thirteen included disabled and neurodivergent protagonists. In a society that somehow continues to perpetuate the idea that the arts have gone ‘too far’ when it comes to inclusion, reports like this one show us how desperately we need to go further. 

Last month, pioneering children’s publisher Knights Of announced their closure after eight years of publishing revolutionary inclusive works like those of neurodivergent author Elle McNicoll. The fact the publishing industry let this happen without a sale seems unthinkable – but that is the current reality. The industry and those at its helm are allowing diversity and inclusivity to be pushed under a rug, and it must be argued this is in line with the shift to the right in politics in the UK. 

Social media, AI, and all the ways tech is hurting artists

It’s worth noting that there is, of course, a lot to say about the role of Big Tech and its impact on the arts sector. From generative AI which steals the work of artists, to the impact of changing algorithms on social media that deprioritise art or censor queer, disabled and racialised people.

This is in complete misalignment with the way that many creative industries are asking for people to have a social media following and engagement rate: publishing wants their authors to have a platform, funding bodies ask for statistics, musicians need a viral TikTok sound. For anyone, this is unrealistic (and arguably unnecessary), but for marginalised creatives, it directly unevens the playing field.

When discussing the impact of social media, Kenny said: 

Many marginalised artists rely on social media because they can’t get out to physical events. The online space was, at one time, a crucial space that held value – we grew rapidly within it ourselves! But in the last year, it’s plummeted – and whilst the more privileged of us can get out and combat the lack of exposure by networking and performing in person, many of us don’t have that luxury… 

I understand that when you’re able-bodied, neurotypical, cis, or simply hold privilege to be able to work around these issues, it’s hard to care about those people who are being shut out. I see it a lot – people say they care but do little to keep online spaces alive. Allyship is needed more than ever but is less prevalent than it’s ever been in the wider sphere.

Where do we even go from here?

It can be difficult to imagine a better arts scene at the moment: there is less money or engagement from politicians for everyone. But it is clear that marginalised artists are hit even harder for a variety of reasons.

Governments and funding bodies must prioritise diversity and inclusion in these sectors: it is critical that artists can work on their craft without fear of not being able to cover their expenses, and we deserve to see ourselves represented across every type of creative practice.

In a society that is prioritising speed and soulless generative working, pushback in the form of real creativity, accessible opportunity and genuine care is crucial. We have to prioritise new talent, talent with a variety of living and lived experiences, talent from every marginalised group. We have a wealth of ability, imagination, and innovation that is going untapped through the decimation of care for the arts and the people in it.

As Kenny puts it:

We need accessible opportunities for the most marginalised in society and we also need to actively refuse opportunities to those who are already in a position of privilege or power. Right now it’s skewed – the ones with the least are expected to pull themselves up by the bootstraps, whilst the ones with lots already are given even more. That can’t continue.

Featured image via John Ranson for the Canary