Race

Shades of Noir website:

I was drawn to the ‘Conversations’ material as they were articles fully embedded ideas around race and social justice in visual culture and making.

I found the resources that most interested me fell into 2 thematic strands and gave rise to different ideas for application in practice:

Theme 1: Beauty as a tool for social justice in photography.

• Tallawah (Nadine Ijewere): Exhibition Review

By Naima Sutton

• Photographing History

By Naima Sutton

• Artist in Focus: Gordon Parks

By Naima Sutton

• Shadi Ghadirian

By Shannyce Adamson

• Our Hair is Art

By Shannyce Adamson

I could use these and expand on them creating a 3-part activity for Illustration students looking at beauty, race and identity in imagemaking, focusing on photography, painting and printmaking.

This work and these sessions work against dominant narratives in culture that present people of colour as victims and their lives and experiences as inevitably negative. For example, re publishing the writer and journalist Sarfraz Manzoor talks about the fetishizing of ‘extreme tales’ and says:

‘I would welcome writers from minority backgrounds being given the space to write beyond those confines and to show that one can be brown without being sad, mad or dangerous.’

The sessions could be called Beauty is an Act of Justice, from a quote by Tyler Mitchell – ‘Black beauty is an act of justice’

(Interestingly, Tyler Mitchell also came up in my Artefact Discussion Group too!)

For session 1, I would add in:

Black British photographers like:

Charlie Philipps

Horace Ove

Normski

Franklyn Rogers

Armet Francis

Giles Moberly

Rhea Storr

African Studio photographers like:

Malick Sidibe

Seydou Keita

Mama Casset

Joseph Moise Agbodgelou

International fashion and project photographers like:

Jamel Shabazz

Hassan Hajjaj

Tyler Mitchell

Cristina de Middel

For session 2, moving into painting, I would add:

Kehinde Wiley

Lynette Yiadom Boakye

Kerry James Marshall

Lubaina Himid

Chris Ofili

Hurvin Andersson

Abe Odedina

Che Lovelace

Denzel Forrester

Sonia Boyce

Kimathi Donkor

I could also ask Kimathi Donkor to speak as he is Course Leader in Painting.

Then for session 3, I would add

Winston Branch

Manuel Mendive

Tam Joseph

Louis Khehla Maqhubela

Uzo Egonu

Tony Phillipps

Faith Ringgold

Tunde Odunlade

Kara Walker

Adrian Piper

Margo Humphrey

Trenton Dyle Hancock

Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons

Theme 2: Questioning cultural institutions, holders of knowledge and traditional methods of curation

• Looted African Artefacts

By Favour J

• Different Approaches to Curation

By Shannyce Adamson

• Art That Moves: Truck Art

By Suprina Gurung

I could use these resources to open up debates around the where, who and how culture and knowledge are held and shown.

They could be the starting point for an alternative knowledge building project for students. This could be called Alternate Sources.

First, they could choose and visit a major London institution. Exploring what is valuable to them and analysing the ethics of the collection.

Second we could give them a choice of places to visit that they may or may not have automatically thought of, like the Black Cultural Archives (https://blackculturalarchives.org/), the House of Dreams in Dulwich, (http://www.stephenwrightartist.com/about.php ), the Museum of the Home (https://www.museumofthehome.org.uk/) or the Oral Storytelling Archive (https://www.bl.uk/collection-guides/oral-history#) at The British Library.

Thirdly, they could be asked to find a site of their own, the more personal, informal or unofficial the better.

Finally, they could present their journey over the 3 sites back to the group.

Another learning activity inspired by these resources could unpack the ethics and issues around the term ‘outsider art’ and practices outside the traditional art and design world, using resources like

Art Brut: Jean Dubuffets’s Revolution in art

Or

My Soul has Grown Deep: Black Art from the American South

Cheryl Finley, Randall R. Griffey, Amelai Peck, Darryl Pinckney

It could question the concept of an outside, inside or centre of creative practice and be called Network.

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A pedagogy of social justice education: social identity theory and intersectionality

Hahn Tapper:

Things learnt:

‘Authentic thinking, thinking that is concerned about reality, does not take place in ivory tower isolation, but only in communication.’

‘Their programs aim to transform, not perpetuate, the status quo.’

Useful reminders of where to focus.

‘Contact hypothesis (Allport 1954). According to this supposition, if individuals identifying with particular groups in conflict interact with one another in a positively structured environment, they have an opportunity to re-evaluate their relations with one another such that one-time enemies can become acquaintances or even allies’

‘If people are able to deconstruct and even eliminate these negative stereotypes, the conflict between them can be resolved.’

What a powerful idea –  In this way, higher education can change society and the world!

‘Relations between groups can actually worsen as a result of contact.’

‘Structure intergroup encounters so that they reflect, if not altogether exemplify, equality (Allport and Kramer 1946; Allport 1954; Maoz 2000b)’

‘The reality outside the room cannot be controlled, which will inevitably shape power dynamics within any given experiment for the worse. Societal inequalities linked to participants’ social identities play a role within the confines of any intergroup trial, something that is impossible to regulate or ignore (Lieberson 1961)’

This is important. The fact that you can’t just put people together and things will work. The necessity of carefully and sensitively managing what goes on. I think this also makes sense of the negative and lingering impact of university for some students. The negative effect of power structures being made worse, than if they’d never been at all. Could the signs of implicit conflict made worse be silent, internalised and expressed in an awarding gap rather than thrown punches?

Question/provocation:

‘Perhaps most important, SIT contends that when individuals relate to one another, actions are usually perceived, first and foremost, as being representative of the assorted social groups to which they belong rather than as individual examples of behavior. Consequently, individuals have group identities that they choose, as well as group identities that are imposed on them. People-to-people interactions exist within this context. In fact, says SIT, participants’ behavior is shaped more by their collective identities than personal identities.’

This theory created an interesting first response or provocation in me. I felt – I don’t agree!

I think there are several reasons behind this. In the first instance, I think I’ve had to believe that individual connection can supersede group dynamics, as a person of colour in predominantly white educational and professional spaces. I’ve had to believe that I can connect with people through the things we share, and in doing so dispel preconceptions and ideas people might have had about me.

Secondly, I think I’m resistant to idea of imposed group identities because it makes me feel powerless as the minority role in a wider racial power dynamic.

Also, a common racial problem can be that people assume black identity is a monolith. I feel like I’ve confronted it myself and talked and read about others who’ve done the same (e.g. https://www.psychologytoday.com/gb/blog/opening-the-door/202101/black-people-are-not-monolith) This theory seems to support the monolith idea.

However, my disagreement and resistance dissolved as I thought further. Particularly, in light of phrases like those saying social identity theory is ‘a “grand” theory’ and ‘a truly social psychological theory’. This helped me see that the theory is looking at the situation from a particular macro perspective, with a higher and wider vantage point than my own and through a particular disciplinary lens.

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Witness: Unconscious Bias:

Josephine Kwhali says at one point – ‘What do we have to do and say and write and present on?’ to get the unconscious bias to be conscious?

This is interesting as it expresses frustration and a kind of despair about what is possible.

I want to reject this despair and I think I can do and she is overall, as really it seems she is questioning whether this bias has actually ever been unconscious. This echoes what Shirley Anne Tate says about un(conscious) bias.

If it is conscious, then this might seem more depressing, but actually I think it’s a stronger position for everyone involved. It means we can actually get down to discussing, exposing and addressing the real issues at play – power, safety, convenience.

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Retention and attainment in the disciplines: Art and Design

Terry Finnegan, Aisha Richards:

 Things learnt:

• 1:1 Tutorial/ Atelier Model does not suit large groups. It’s use leads to student perception of little teaching.

‘However, with increasing group sizes, and the increase in diversity within Art and Design studio spaces, providing feedback at an individual level for learning becomes increasingly challenging. The ‘atelier’ method of working, which includes the “watch me and learn from me”, or the “sitting next to Nellie” approach (Swann 1986, p. 18) is no longer feasible. This relied on the serial one- to-one tutorial model of pedagogy and the tutors’ “pearls of wisdom” approach (Orr, Yorke and Blair 2014). Even with the larger groups this method of one-to-one feedback within the studio is still used today. This leads to students feeling there is very little teaching on the course:

I wasn’t expecting to be left to do projects completely on your own. I was expecting more guidance with it being first year and I didn’t know what kind of work they were looking for. (Yorke and Vaughn 2012, p. 24)’

• Staff expect tacit knowledge of delivery

‘So, students in their first year of study are constantly looking for certainty and reassurance, while staff are encouraging ambiguity and risk taking and expecting a tacit knowledge of how the subject is delivered.’

We need to talk about why we deliver as we do. We need to highlight the variety of methods we use and make clear that the less prominent role of tutorial teaching is not a lack. We also need to own and develop methods that pedagogic approaches that suit our current one and not one that is in the past.

• Relationship with tutor’s is important. It can have a negative effect. Students can make work which suits tutor’s tastes.

‘If conceiving and making work is a key role for students, and the work itself produced is emotional, then the relationships with tutors are intrinsic to its development. At times students may feel at odds with the tutors’ aesthetic sense, which may link to their own identity (Sabri 2014). Students should be able to bring themselves into their work. However, this is harder for some to do than others.’

‘They perceive that some tutors’ preferences have a large role to play when it comes to getting a good grade. According to Sabri (2015) if they are at odds with the tutor’s aesthetic they often leave their own ideas and follow the guidance of the tutor.

‘It (my work) didn’t belong to me and I didn’t belong to it’

We need to actively encourage students to follow their own interests and not our own. We need to research and inform ourselves around our students interests so we can support them in creating their work, not make them meet us in the areas where we have knowledge.

• The dangers of asking students to come out of their comfort zones in a negative way

‘Art and Design educators need to be aware of the power they have in encouraging or discouraging students to develop their own practice. They often talk about students coming out of their comfort zone and thinking about exploring something that is not so close to their own personal identity.’

Taking risks is necessary for good practice but the call for this can mask what is really a judgement call by a tutor on the content of a student’s work.

• The importance of training everyone.

‘The institution needs to make a decision on how many part-time staff they employ, as opposed to full-time and fractional staff, and ensure that all staff are adequately inducted and supported into their roles. There is a need to continue to train and support new staff who bring industry experience and their own creative practice but also will be working with large diverse groups of students within the studio.’

Training sometimes does not reach part-time staff. It also sometimes does not reach the people who are not interested in it and therefore need it the most. Staff can also sometimes be grappling with too much in terms of their workload and role to have the capacity to absorb and act on training.

We need to make time and allot budget for part time staff to be trained. We need to pursue staff who are not attending and make training essential to holding a role within the department. We also need to check that everyone is being managed, supported and PRA’d appropriately so that things like training are being monitored and work issues addressed.

• Staff not seeking out their own diverse resources.

‘Most college and university instructors continue to teach in culturally neutral ways. Faculty socialisation is conceivably the most salient explanatory factor. More often than not faculty members have not been trained to seek out and infuse diverse readings and pedagogical methods into their courses. (Quaye and Harper 2007, p.36)’

Everyone needs to be asked to seek out their own diverse resources connected to their creative and teaching practice. This will need a longer period of time, maybe a year-long time period?

• Cultural competence qualities.

‘Cultural competence has thus evolved from the making of assumptions about patients on the basis of their background to the implementation of the principles of patient-centred care, including exploration, empathy, and responsiveness to patients’ needs, values, and preferences. (Betancourt 2004, p. 953)’

This is a good, sophisticated, in-depth description of what is needed.

• Learning environment and spaces.

‘Giving students a sense of ownership over their environment encourages them to spend more time in the building;
Developing space to socialise and meet as crews is essential.

Regular meetings between student groups, and staff, to discuss/solve any issues, and to feedback on positive changes, is incredibly useful.’

We need to feed this into how we use our studios. Informal, non-assessed activity will be key in doing this.

1 question/provocation:

How can this all be implemented?

What are the top 3 things that needs to be done first?

1. We need to create a regular space to discuss, reflect and develop our approaches and methods as a course team.

• We need to make sure that everyone is well-managed and supported, therefore not too stressed out to commit this time and attention.

• We need to make sure this work is mandatory for all.

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Terms of reference SoN Race:

• Visible faces in white spaces

By Rhian Spencer

This project interest me as it literally embeds people of colour in the space and environment of higher education. Also, it doesn’t need to be explained, it communicates directly.

It also interests me because some of my feelings are ambivalent. As the previous report highlighted, equality and justice is not just achieved through people of colour simply being present but through them being able to contribute in a meaningful way to the culture and practices of an institution.

The visuality of this project is a strength and yet it also reminds me of the sometimes optical or performative allyship of organisations.

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The Room of Silence

Documentary, Rhode island School of Design

• ‘They didn’t know how to crit my piece’

• People talking about everything in a piece but the racial content.

• People afraid of being racist through critiquing

• People feeling afraid to speak

• ‘But what if it’s shit – You need to tell me!’

• People being given language to talk about work but not about identity and racism.

• Experience being ‘paid’ for

• Teacher saying ‘you’re really exotic’

• People thinking you’re where you are because of affirmative action.

• ‘Internal organs out on the table for people’

• Being angry

• Silencing yourself

I’ve experienced this in educational and professional settings and in life.

People think that ‘getting things wrong’ is the worst crime, but that isn’t the most destructive thing. This film really makes clear that avoidance and silence are the biggest crimes.

This reminds me of Audre Lorde: ‘Your silence will not protect you.’

It’s good to hear this confirmed and articulated because when you are supportively challenging and unpacking racist work or comments in a tutorial setting it can feel scary even though you know you’re doing the right and essential thing. It feels very exposing. Also, I hadn’t thought about it in these terms before but I think it’s partly because as an academic of colour you feel afraid of being seen as an ‘angry’ or ‘bitter ‘person in the same way as you do as a student and as they describe in the film.

This has also made me realise that I’m much more confident in addressing micro aggressions on behalf of students than myself. I find it difficult when they’re made by students towards me. I think I might need to think about myself as a student when it happens, as a distancing technique.

I found it interesting that students talked about their experiences being unacceptable because they’d ‘paid for it’ rather than because it’s what they deserve as people. This feels like it might be a testament to the way these views are normalised and embedded in the structures of institutions and society.