I was pleased to be a part of this article in Crafts Magazine, which features comment from 7 people on diversity and inequalities in the craft sector. An extract from my contribution is below, you can read the full article here.
“While some areas of the UK craft ecology do represent the diversity of British society, the professionalised craft sector does not. Many Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) women I have spoken to have told me about feeling like an outsider in craft spaces, experiencing racism and microaggressions in studios and at craft fairs, and generally feeling like they are not adequately represented or welcome.
The vast majority of people working in craft organisations, on craft judging panels, on interview panels, are white, which is rarely questioned. Also, entrenched ideas about which types of craft are deemed valuable are based on hierarchies of value that are determined by white people. My research highlights how craft created by black and Asian women tends to be judged through the prism of race, rather than the qualities of the work itself….