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Breaking barriers: on class and social mobility in arts and culture

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Abid Hussain

Our Diversity Director, Abid Hussain, blogs about his own experience of class and social mobility, and how we’re embarking on a social mobility measurement pilot with the University of Leeds and the AHRC (Arts and Humanities Research Council).
19 April 2018

Posted by:

Abid Hussain

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There are two terms that can often be overlooked in conversations around equality and diversity: class and social mobility. For arts and culture in England to be truly diverse, we need to change this. Results from the latest Panic! survey have just been published, providing the most wide-ranging picture to date of working life across the creative industries. At the Arts Council we want to unlock change. Having a way to measure the scale of the social mobility challenge we face is how we can assess progress.

Where better to start than with myself

As a child in the 80s I had no defined notion of class or privilege, but a strong sense of community. We lived in Sparkbrook – Birmingham – surrounded by neighbours of Bangladeshi, Caribbean, Indian, Irish and Pakistani heritage. Our parents were hard working, we all knew our neighbours and everyone looked out for one another; it’s all that mattered.

Contrasts made apparent

It was only when I went to university that I became more acutely aware of social and economic disparities. I was one of the last cohorts of students in England to receive a subsidised university education. My parents’ lower income meant I also received a grant to support with expenses. This wasn’t the case for everyone; for the first time I was seeing a significant difference in wealth and disposable income amongst my classmates. That difference is at the heart of today’s increasingly urgent conversations on class and social mobility in the arts and cultural sector.

A young audience member enjoys the Spitalfields Music Summer Festival - Photo credit James Berry
A young audience member enjoys the Spitalfields Music Summer Festival. Photo © James Berry

For many from my generation, we faced a choice when going to university. Did we choose to follow our hearts into the arts with our academic and career choices? Or did we use our heads to ensure our parents’ sacrifices were not (as they would perceive it) in vain? How many would-be working-class artists, artistic directors, choreographers, composers and curators decided to enter the accounting, legal, medical and engineering professions instead?

Breaking barriers

We need to challenge and overcome barriers of class and social mobility with the same level of commitment that we respond to inequities in relation to race, disability and gender – all protected characteristic groups under the Equality Act. The same legal imperative may not apply to class and social mobility, but the Creative Case for Diversity is driven by artistic excellence not just legal requirements. Quality data and robust measurement frameworks will help us get there.

Earlier this year, at our Creative Case: leading diverse futures event, our Chair Nick Serota recognised the importance of addressing many of the issues identified in the Panic! study. He also acknowledged the leadership role we will play in establishing a framework to measure and report on social mobility across our investment. 

What we’re doing

We know the challenge is complex. Having conducted an initial review, we’ve found there is no established reporting mechanism or comparable metrics to measure social mobility. Over the coming months we will be working in partnership with the University of Leeds, with support from the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) through a fellowship with Dr Susan Oman, to establish an evidence base and explore our options for developing measures that work for the sector and that offer a better insight into social mobility and across the wider diversity data we collect.

Creative People & Places Hounslow led by Watermans.
Photo by Creative People & Places Hounslow led by Watermans. Photo © Alex Brenner
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We will start by working with both academic researchers and the arts and cultural sector, including a literature review and a pilot study with National Portfolio Organisations this spring. This is only a first step, but a necessary one that will help frame our work moving forward, including our next ten-year strategy. Once complete, we will share what the findings and conclusions of the research mean for us and the sector later this year.

As a parent I want my daughters to follow their heart and their passions. I want their generation to produce artists and cultural leaders that shake up our institutions to reflect creative voices from all parts of the country, irrespective of background or circumstances. We can’t afford to lose another generation of talent.

Find out more

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