‘Cultural diversity’ seems to be trilling on everyone’s lips at the moment. It certainly is a powerful term, and one that smacks of all those familiar yet exotic qualities that are brought together through custom, tradition, ritual and ceremony. One definition uses appropriately lush language to define it as ‘variety and richness of communities with distinct systems of norms, beliefs, practices, and values.’ Yet however it is defined, cultural diversity is now firmly on the cultural and political agenda.
Not surprisingly then, a cultural diversity industry has sprung up to serve this new area of policy making. One academic journal published by the American Psychological Association looks specifically at Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology. And a growing consultancy industry is already prospering. For more than a few pounds, cultural diversity training is now available for those who need it. See www.business-marketing.com to access Cultural Diversity Training videos, CD-ROMs and Web-Based learning programs.
Here in England, maybe it’s on our mind because a recent Arts in England, attendance, participation and attitudes report was released in December last year by Arts Council England. Not yet another survey you say? Well yes it is, but this one is being hailed as something special, something more. Because although the Council released an Arts in England: attendance, participation and attitudes report only as recently as 2001, this December 2003 report takes a different slant as forewarned in its introduction. Entitled: Focus on cultural diversity: the arts in England, this particular attendance, participation and attitudes report looks for the first time at the arts among England’s culturally diverse population.
About time you say? Surely this must have been already done in the almost 60-year history of the Arts Council? Particularly considering England is home to over 300 different languages and offers, as succinctly put on the BBC website ‘enough global cultures to experience a different part of the world every day’. Well all things come to those who wait. And here it is.
The Arts Council England explain in the report’s introduction that they have ‘articulated [their] commitment to cultural diversity in [their new] manifesto Ambition for the arts’. True enough, in 2002, after what is being documented as a period of ‘radical reform’ a new Council of Arts Council England was appointed. This new Council then went on to create a new manifesto for 2003-2006 and one of the manifesto’s five key performance indicators was to ‘place cultural diversity at the heart of the work.’ The Council goes on to say: ‘The term cultural diversity can be interpreted in many different ways. We will take the broadest interpretation – as meaning the full range and diversity of the culture of this country – but with a particular focus on race and ethnic background.’
This report is therefore obviously meant to be seen as the first foray into what is now being affirmed as a ‘central value’ in the work of the Council, and as Tony Panayiotou, Director of Diversity, Arts Council England appropriately states: ‘The importance of cultural diversity to the vitality of the arts and cultures cannot be overstated.’ In fact in 2002 the Council is reported to have assigned 29 million pounds from the lottery funded Arts Capital Programme for Black, Asian and Chinese run groups.
So what did the survey find? Considering the results of the last Census in 2001, when it was reported that black and minority ethnic groups made up 9.1% of the population, (of this 4.6% were Asian and 2.3% Black), the survey is being touted as providing the ‘first national information on how our culturally diverse population engages with the arts and culture.’ And this is surely key information in that ever-elusive (and potentially money-making) goal of audience targeting.
Survey questions are always problematic, this one even more so when taking into consideration how any given culture actually answers questions. Some cultures, particularly Asian, may not feel comfortable answering negatively to any question, making the simple act of asking the question fraught with cultural resonance.
Having said that, some positive results included finding that Asians were most likely to have attended a culturally specific festival – particularly Indians. Moreover almost nine out of ten respondents had taken part in arts activity. Over a third of participants were reported to have visited a museum or art gallery, and the highest proportions of those using libraries were found among Black African, Pakistani and Bangladeshi respondents. The survey also found that there was a strong support of the arts within all cultural groups, particularly for children, as well as a strong support for libraries.
On the other side of the coin Pakistani and Bangladeshi respondents were most likely to say that concerns about feeling ‘uncomfortable or out of place’ prevented them from attending an event.
In a way these results were foreshadowed by the original 2002 attendance, participation and attitudes report, where it was found that 73% said that the arts played a valuable role in the life of a country – particularly arts from different cultures.
So where to from here?
Well looking outside the theoretical realms of this survey, the world of cultural diversity is surprisingly active. The BBC seems to have already picked up on the content value of cultural diversity. Their Voices project is promoted as an opportunity for all cultures and people to share their story. As spelt out on the BBC website: ‘Producers from BBC Nations & Regions have been working across the UK in the heart of over 50 widely different communities to find out what the news doesn’t tell you. The views, opinions and stories of life as it is.’ Stories range from ethnic histories in Gloucestershire to refugee tales in London.
There also exists a cultural project called Roots. This is a new national initiative between BBC English Regions and the Arts Council of England where the aim is to increase the profile of diverse arts and related activities.
Essential Audiences is another partnership project between Arts Council England’s New Audiences programme and Arts Professional magazine, and as purported on its website: ‘The development of culturally diverse arts, and of audiences keen to experience their work, has been the subject of a huge range of New Audience funded projects.’
Decibel is yet another Arts Council England initiative. The project runs until March 2004, and the fervent Decibel manifesto includes using ‘strategic lobbying and a collective voice [to] make a significant contribution towards strengthening support for culturally diverse arts in Britain.’
Overall some critics could say that the commissioning of these many surveys points towards a form of information-based management. Or to the cynical, it is simple risk management, as it takes away accountability from the survey’s instigators and points towards action based more on information in the market rather than decision-making.
Yet it could also be seen as a more egalitarian and inclusive form of management in the sustainability of culture. If the new Council of Arts Council England is keen enough to make cultural diversity a key public factor in its administrative function, then surely hearing from the people that make up these cultures will lead towards, as seen by the projects already initiated, a stronger and more public ethnic presence in the arts in England, and by and large a more relevant representation of the country.
