Here is the job application I wrote for my job at Paul Hamlyn Foundation. I think it remains broadly reflective of where we are now and what we're working on, although with more nuance and sophistication than I had available to me when I wrote it. A couple of things:
1. my work at the Barbican was, on balance, a failure and I bear little responsibility for that. Asking an under-resourced inexperienced person of colour to write an organisation-wide Equity and Inclusion strategy for a complex white-dominant cultural institution was a bad idea. But, I'm glad I tried, I learned a lot and it was a formative process, because I had amazing colleagues who made it worthwhile. Love you guys :)
2. I don't always feel that 'the sector is ready to take risks and embrace new ideas' as I wrote below, but I am an optimist, hope is a discipline, and no one wants to read a miserable job application. Maintaining that positivity is central to doing this work.
What are the biggest challenges facing the arts sector today?
The arts sector is failing to realise its potential as an emancipatory force in our society. It is resistant to change and remains a difficult sector for marginalised people to succeed in. The sector’s workforce remains split into ‘haves’, who enjoy ring fenced budgets and salaries, and ‘have-nots’, who are working project-to-project without security. These inequalities manifest along lines such as race and geography, and are intertwined with hierarchies of class, taste and cultural value, making it a complicated knot to unpick.
To accelerate progress we need to address leadership and evaluation practice. Our current leadership shy away from awkward conversations and difficult decisions, stifling efforts to change both organisations and the sector. We know the impact that innovative and bold leaders can have in the arts, especially those from marginalised communities, and we need to give them sustained support to thrive and take risks in both existing and new organisations. Our evaluation practices focus too much on advocacy and measurement and not enough on reflection and learning. This has led to evaluation which reinforces the status quo rather than stimulating ideas and debate. We need to embrace a broader definition of evidence-based learning and share honest reflections to reflect upon our work.
What skills and experience would you bring to help address those challenges?
The biggest challenge for grant-makers is to ensure that their resources support meaningful transformation rather than reinforcing existing power structures. Leading grant-making in arts access and participation therefore requires knowledge of the breadth of the arts sector ecosystem and a critical understanding of current issues in arts participation, both of which I have accumulated across my career. I have delivered participation work as an artist, produced learning events, evaluated projects, made grants and written and implemented strategy. In policy, I have commissioned research, analysed large quantitative datasets and compiled and edited reports. Below are some examples most relevant to this role.
At the Barbican, I researched, wrote and implemented the organisation’s equality and inclusion strategy. The strategy encompassed artists, audiences and workforce, enabling me to develop a critical understanding of EDI policy across all aspects of the arts sector, from both theoretical and applied perspectives. My experience has given me the skills to rigorously assess how well organisations understand the specific barriers to access in their field, what assumptions they are making about the value they will create for participants and how sustainable their impact might be.
At Nesta, I was the project lead on Digital Culture 2019, working in partnership with Arts Council England (ACE). The report explores the barriers and enablers for organisations in the arts sector seeking to adapt to new technologies, looking at business models, research & development and audiences. I commissioned the research, compiled and edited the report, held the relationship with ACE and managed the publication and launch of the report. The report has added a macro-layer to my understanding of sectoral inequality, and also demonstrates my relationship management, analysis and writing skills, alongside the project management skills needed to oversee the project.
Evaluation is an untapped resource for addressing inequality in the sector. For funders, it is the point at which they can create space for grantees to reflect and interrogate their practice, but it is often an onerous data collection task with a tenuous connection to the project itself. I have experience at the Barbican and at Nesta designing evaluation processes which support iterative working and are well integrated into projects’ workflows, and I would bring these skills to PHF’s grant management.
How have you supported change to happen in your career?
I have led change projects in my current role and my work at Nesta and the Barbican. I have also sought to share my expertise further through my board membership with Sound Connections and guest lectureship at Goldsmiths University. Reflecting on all of these experiences, I’ve learned that there are a few qualities needed to support change.
The first is subject expertise, which is what gives you credibility. For the Barbican’s equality and inclusion strategy, I worked with the authors of Panic! It’s an Arts Emergency and the Runnymede Trust to develop this expertise. Change also requires humility and resilience, to build consensus but also keep the end goal in sight. I found that departments needed autonomy and could not be coerced into action, so I developed a set of principles from my research which were accepted by senior leadership, before working with each department to develop an annual plan for their artists, audiences and workforce. Eventually I delivered a fully fledged strategy and implementation plan which met my original ambitions but was tailored to the unique characteristics of the organisation.
Why are you interested in this role? Why now?
My positions at the Barbican, Nesta and the National Archives were all new roles, created to address a specific issue. They offered the promise of change but they were not well integrated into existing structures, and they didn’t have the requisite power or influence. Although I have achieved and learned a lot along the way, I believe that shaping funding strategy and supporting more ‘have-nots’ to pursue their ideas is a more impactful way to work, which offers longevity and sustainability. At the National Archives I have developed my line management experience such that I can communicate a vision, enable colleagues to bring their whole selves to work and support them to extend themselves intellectually.
I’m interested in this role now because I still believe that the arts sector can make an enriching contribution to civic society. A few years ago, I wouldn’t have thought that the radical changes needed in the sector were possible, as I saw the same kinds of organisations receiving funding for the same kinds of projects. However, recent events have raised my level of expectation and hope. At a time when the sector is ready to take risks and embrace new ideas, my skills, experiences and perspectives would be an asset to PHF’s work in arts access and participation.
What is it about joining PHF that appeals to you?
As an explicitly anti-racist independent grant-making foundation, PHF is setting an inspiring example. This isn’t just reflected in PHF’s direct rhetoric and language, but also in its grant-making practice. PHF’s other grant-making missions sit within a clear social justice mission, which I think is important grounding for arts participation & access work. I am motivated especially by the willingness to explicitly address issues such as power and to seek change across the ecosystem. The interconnected nature of artists, audience and workforce cannot be underestimated when trying to shift the dial on inequalities.