sharing the spotlight constructing and negotiating identity and contributing to national culture...
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Sharing the spotlight
Constructing and negotiating identity and contributing to
national culture through the arts
Structure of the presentation
Context and aims of the study Construction and negotiation of identity as
reflected through access to the arts Formation and mediation of identity as
reflected through participation in the arts Some conclusions
Context
Identity politics: ‘politics of difference’; Based on sense of belonging – what is
shared/different (Weeks) Within politics of citizenship, raises issues of
what it means to be a minority/majority, and to what extent minorities have equal citizenship rights
Within the arts, it raises issues of the extent to which the cultural rights of minorities should be protected and cultivated
Socio-political context and identity Since devolution what it means to be British, English,
Scottish etc. increasingly problematic People living in Scotland generally strongly identify
with being Scottish Research among English people living in Scotland
shows claims to Scottish identity based on choice and commitment rather than place of birth
Identity involves complex process of claim, attribution and perception by others
To what extent does this hold among minorities?
Identity of ethnic minorities
Ways people think of themselves are ‘various, changing and generating new forms of ethnicity’ (Modood, 1997)
In England, British born more likely to think of themselves as British but only a little less likely than 1st generation to identify with origins, because of difficulties in being accepted
In Scotland, how do minorities see themselves? How is this manifested through access and
participation in the arts??
Immigration,devolution and ethnic minorities in Scotland
Scotland also transformed by the British empire and immigration
Main differences: lack of acknowledgement of racism as a political problem; absence of racialisation and dominance of the Other (England) in Scottish politics
Small size of minority ethnic population: 2% of population
Biggest groups: Pakistani, Chinese, Indians, Africans, refugees/asylum seekers
Since devolution,there continues to be a lack of recognition of how historical and contemporary context has transformed lives of minorities
However, devolution has facilitated focus on racism and race equality: Scotland Act and equal opportunities Parliamentary Equal Opportunities Committee;
Equality Unit in Scottish Executive
Main themes emerging from audit of research on minority ethnic issues (Netto et al, 2001) revealed: Invisibility of minority ethnic people in statistical data
and documents Difficulties in accessing and using public services Persistence of racial disadvantage, discrimination and
harassment Inequalities in recruitment, retention and progression
in workforce
Context of this study
Commissioned by the Scottish Arts Council to inform cultural diversity policy
Cultural diversity: positive usage usually associated with respect for human dignity and cultural rights
Aims of this paper: How do minorities see themselves? How is this reflected through access and participation
in the arts?
Methods
8 Focus groups: 2 each for Pakistani, Chinese, Indian and African (66 individuals)
Interviews with 12 minority organisations Interviews with 6 practising artists
Access to the arts
Considerable interest in accessing the arts Interest in different forms of artistic activity
related to age, country of birth and number of years spent in UK
Older participants much more interested in minority ethnic arts; suggest strong identification with ethnic group, higher degree of cultural retentiveness
Young participants interested in both minority ethnic art and mainstream art; expression of dual identity and limitations of identifying completely with either
‘I can’t go to Malawi and be, claim to be Malawi, because as soon as I walk in, they know I haven’t lived in that country, they know there is something different about the way that I speak, that I walk, that I dress, but here, I don’t fit in completely either
Parents aware that early exposure to the arts encourages interest in the arts
Keen to encourage access to minority ethnic arts in children as means of encouraging ethnic identification:
‘At the end of the day it (interest in minority ethnic arts) all boils down to family, how strong the family is and whether the family is traditionalist or not.’
Importance of access to minority ethnic arts
Reinforces ethnic identification through learning about cultural roots, meeting with others, transmitting cultural knowledge
Evokes sense of belonging and self-determination; cultivates pride in ethnic identity: ‘so that they…want to belong to Africa and not feel
ashamed of being African and be proud of themselves, and break out of their shells’
Necessary to counter racism, to ‘operate from position of cultural strength’; racism important in shaping ethnic identification
Importance of access to minority ethnic arts
Concerns about cultural survival particularly among older people: ‘Culture is something I need to hold on to, to
survive here, that is why it is scary when you don’t see it’
Threat of cultural loss likely to be pronounced due to small size and fear of immersion in wider population
Barriers to accessing the arts
Universal barriers: transport, costs, timing of events etc
Ethnically specific barriers: lack of previous exposure, lack of perceived relevance of art-forms, discomfort with bad language
Limited provision: few events for minority ethnic arts organised
Ethnic minorities experience greater difficulties in accessing and benefiting from the arts
Participation in the arts
Motivating factors: opportunities for self-expression, increased confidence, generating sense of belonging, connecting with others Individual level: art offers opportunities not only to
explore identity but to affirm and express it Group level: art offers opportunities to collectively
mobilise identity and engender sense of togetherness Opportunities for individual/group expression may be
particularly significant given small size of population, invisibility and marginalisation
Opportunities for dispelling negative stereotypes to wider population: ‘At the moment people do not know about Chinese
culture, they just know about Chinese food, take-aways, restaurants and the martial arts. So we really want to change the image of the Chinese people’
Mobilising group identity to counter racism Negotiation of identity involves engaging with
dominant meanings and representations of group in wider society
Opportunities also for engaging with others of the same identity ‘It can be a modern piece of work and it can
have a religious message without having to be a traditional piece…you can still be British and Muslim too’ (young Islamic calligrapher)
Suggests also that there is a tension between living out these two identities
To gain greater visibility and recognition, including of their right to claim public space and to raise awareness of the relevance of their work to Scottish culture [‘Its not just] the fact that we’re of different colour and
the fact that we wear more colours; its nothing to do with that. It’s to do with the fact that Britain had an empire, we’re here. They were there, that’s why we are here. Its cultural exchange and nothing patronising.’ (writer, poet and dancer)
Barriers to participation
Common difficulty: Difficulties in getting funding Added difficulties: small size of voluntary
organisations, lack of knowledge of funding criteria, incompatibility of funding criteria with artistic aspirations
Difficulty in getting access to publishers/gallery space Limited opportunities for young people to learn skills
associated with minority ethnic arts Lack of representation in decision-making structures
related to access to resources
Some conclusions
Interests in participating in arts is closely related to ethnic identity
Arts provide means of exploring, affirming and expressing identities
Some generational differences in terms of preferences for arts
Process of change and adaptation in arts-related preferences, despite strong conservation of cultural values and fear of cultural loss
Arts used to express cultural and political assertiveness; claim for public space
Arts used to mobilise group solidarity/identity; claim for rights associated with citizenship
Demand that national culture is widened to include ethnic minority contribution
Right to have difference supported in both public and private sphere
Some conclusions
Minority ethnic individuals have some capacity to negotiate and mobilise identity for themselves, but this is currently constrained by lack of support from others
Identity politics not yet fully exploited, not yet achieved the goal of full recognition for rights based on ethnic identity
