Leading equal rights organisations in the UK have announced a landmark research commission into racial inequality in the art sector, as a new organisation called Black Lives in Music also aims to tackle racial inequality in the music industry.
The Runnymede Trust, a race equality thinktank, and Freelands Foundation have partnered to deliver the first major commission into how Black, Asian or ethnic minority background students are excluded from art education.
They hope the initiative will be a catalyst of structural change in the sector, where despite the success of individual artists such as Steve McQueen and Lubaina Himid, only 2.7% of the workforce come from a Black, Asian or ethnic minority background.
The announcement of the commission comes as Black Lives in Music, which will support black musicians and bring about increased representation and participation in the music industry, launches.
The organisation wants to address the lack of data on the everyday reality for black musicians in the UK with the Black Lives in Music survey, which will look into the issues black creatives face, including racial discrimination, mental health, wellbeing and economic disparity. The results of the survey will be published in an annual report in May 2021.