We invite you to join our launch and discussion of a policy report outlining the findings of a study carried out by the University of Birmingham and Centrala. The study emerges from a Midlands3Cities Creative Economies Engagement Fellowship, funded by the AHRC. The report’s key findings will be presented by Professor Sara Jones, followed by discussion by a panel of experts from academia and the creative economies.

This event is open for everyone interested in discussing possible changes in diversity policies and the way they could be implemented.

About

Central and Eastern European (CEE) migrants make up approximately 3.7% of the Midlands’ population. They are, however, greatly underrepresented within the Midlands’ art galleries, spaces and festivals in comparison to artists born in Western Europe and North America. As predominantly white communities they are classified as “White Other” – a “tick box” they share with Western Europeans, North Americans, and Australians. They experience the privilege of “invisibility”; however, once identified as Central and Eastern European, they find themselves constructed as “not quite white” and are subject to xenoracism and discrimination. Their qualifications and experience are frequently undervalued and they do not share the same privileges and access to the same resources as their Western European counterparts. This is further highlighted by hostile environment policies and further changes in regulations brought on by Brexit. Currently, there does not seem to be an adequate measure for capturing the experiences and needs of CEE migrants. We would like to attract the attention of policy influencers, policy makers and policy implementers to the relative marginalisation of these communities. Our findings indicate that CEE artists do not enjoy equal access and representation in the cultural sector, and their interests, participation and career opportunities are not sufficiently protected by current equality regulations. As our research found, CEE migrants find themselves ‘inbetween spaces’ - in the grey zone between assumed sameness and the disadvantages of being foreign and different.

Confirmed Panellists:

Alicja Kaczmarek, Director of Centrala

Prof. Louise Ryan, Director of the Global Diversities and Inequalities Research Centre at London Metropolitan University

Pauline de Souza, Director of Diversity Arts Forum

Chair: Dr Kinga Goodwin, University of Birmingham

In-Between Spaces