Call for papers: inequalities and diversity in the arts and creative industries

Thursday 21^st November 2024, Birmingham City University, UK

Since the publication of Angela McRobbie’s essay From Clubs to Companies in 2002 which highlighted the precariousness of creative and cultural work, there has been a steady increase in research focusing on the conditions of creative work. This work has revealed the tensions between creativity and commerce in contemporary arts work (Banks, 2007), the unstable and piecemeal working conditions (Hesmondhalgh and Baker, 2009) and the role of cultural policy in shaping the creative sector and its working conditions around the world (Oakley, 2009, 2016; O’Connor, 2010; De Beukelaer and Spence, 2018).

One strand of research in this area has highlighted the inequalities and lack of diversity across the media and creative sector, particularly in relation to the workforce and representation in the media (Banks, 2017; Saha, 2018; Nwonka and Malik, 2018; Brook, O’Brien et al, 2020). This work has revealed the structural inequalities built into the fabric of the arts and media industries, which affect who gets to work in the sector and what types of culture gets to be made.

These conditions have only been exacerbated by the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic (Comunian and England, 2020). Recent announcements by the UK government to cut arts funding in Higher Education (Adams, 2024) and the dwindling arts budgets of local councils, with Birmingham and Nottingham cutting arts budgets significantly (Kendall Adams, 2024) paint a particularly bleak picture for the arts and creative sector. Research which is attentive to these ongoing challenges has never been more important.

This conference, hosted by the Centre for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion in the Arts (CEDIA) at Birmingham City University, aims to bring together research focusing on the conditions of work in the arts and creative sector, as well as potential interventions, theoretical contributions and actions moving forward.

We are looking for proposals within (but not limited to) the following areas:

• Diversity in the creative workforce
• Creative education and pathways into creative work
• Experiences of creative work
• Postcolonial and indigenous perspectives and methodologies
• Representation in the arts and the media
• Intersectionality in the arts and creative industries
• Platform work (social media, streaming services, etc)
• Cultural policy
• Sustainability in creative work

Please send an abstract of no more than 500 words with a biography of up to 100 words to Rebecca Madden rebecca.madden@bcu.ac.uk by Wednesday 31^st July 2024 6pm.

If you have any questions about the conference or wish to discuss your proposal please contact Dr Karen Patel, Director of CEDIA at karen.patel@bcu.ac.uk.

For postgraduate researchers we will be offering a bursary to cover the costs of travel to Birmingham to attend the conference.

The Centre for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion in the Arts (CEDIA) is an advocate and critical voice for equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) in the arts, based at the Faculty of Arts, Design and Media at Birmingham City University. The Centre works with external creative practitioners and experts, BCU staff and students on projects and initiatives focused on EDI in the arts and creative sector.