Let’s use arts to tackle racism !!!

 

“Melting woman II”, 24 x24” , Oil on Canvas, 2019

With many schools turning to the arts to tackle racism and diversify their curriculum, let’s see if it will have any impact at all.

Being an immigrant from India, I have recently been at the centre of some racist comments and attacks and even lost a job because of that, but I guess “it is what it is!” But, I still have hope that art can bring us together as humans beyond our skin colour and language and many of us think like that ! 

I put on some Indian” warli” art and in my art class the kid jumped and said that he has seen that art in the “Indian restaurant” and that he loves the dark terracotta colour.

The importance of equality, diversity and inclusion has never been more prevalent in society than now with the world becoming a global economy and the internet connecting us together. After passionate campaigning from activists around the world, active anti-racism teachings are becoming deeply embedded in our workplaces, communities and, crucially, in our classrooms.  It is important to sensitise kids early on so that the future is better and we do not have to face these harshness at work and in classrooms. 

There’s a lot of work to be done. “A recent survey by commissioned by Arts Council England revealed that less than half of young people (47 per cent) felt the curriculum reflected diversity in regards to ethnicity. It also found that 85 per cent of people of colour and 81 per cent of persons who identified as “white” supported the decolonisation of the curriculum and integration of arts from around the world. 

Using the arts to tackle racism in schools and diversify the curriculum is a key componenet of having social equality in the future, especially for a country like America ,where everyone except the natives are actually “immigrants”!

Thankfully, action is being taken. With the help of regional and local campaigners, schools are taking positive action, not only to diversify their curriculum and tackle racism in the short-term but to future-proof those plans and bring about long-lasting change in pupils by including diversity through Arts- paintings, music, sculpture, pottery and poetry. 

At the heart of many of those strategies has been the arts. Why? Because as well as being hugely visual, the arts allow children to express themselves, says Professor Samual Booth of the WHO : “As well as embedding diversity, representation and anti-racism, …the arts are so powerful for changing mindsets. It’s not just about the art we look at, it’s also about the art our children can create, which allows them to say what they think about the world around them.” Exposing them to art isa  great way to introduce other cultures in young minds!

What do you think about it ?

Should world art be taught in US schools to bring about greater sensitivity and diversity training ?

A particular project has been transformational: inspired by Brazilian photographer Angélica Dass’ “Humanae project”, every pupil and every teacher has drawn a self-portrait and mixed colours to match the colour of their skin. 

The project opened up important conversations about melanin and identity,it was controversial, but we all started off with brown, and then we either made it darker or lighter. It helped children understand that we are all “brown” melanin; some of us have less and others have more.” 

The fun is that everyone drawing a second self-portrait, begins to focus on who they are on the inside, showcasing their interests and family values, rather than just the skin colour …it goes deeper than you think it does!

After the drawings were done, the teachers encouraged conversations about everybody’s identity. And these conversations had an impact on who they thought they were vis-avis their differently coloured neighbour !

 For example , at Welbourne Primary School, in North London, registering for the Artsmark Award prompted teachers to put their arts curriculum under the microscope, and they realised there was a lack of diversity among the artists and musicians in their curriculum. 

“We reviewed our arts curriculum and noticed that the artists our children were exposed to were often white middle-class men from the past like Van Gogh or Picasso,” says Marina Simkassi, the creative arts lead at Welbourne. 

“As a school, we had already begun discussions on diversifying the curriculum, how representation matters in particular to the community we serve, and had a great whole-school Inset which kick-started reflection on practice.

“We’ve seen a change in the images we show, the history we teach and even the language we use in some cases. In art, we feature more diverse artists like Hassan Massoudy, Olumide Egunlae, Georgia O’Keefe, Victoria Villasana and Hokusai - and we are now working on the same for music, too.”

None of this work comes easily - and both schools have experienced challenges along the way. 

At Drake Primary School, Booth says, although staff were keen to tackle racism and increase diversity, they were nervous, especially about how “parents” would react , but thankfully it went on well with the “white “ parents. 

Taking positive action on equality, diversity and inclusion together is always good for the growth of any society. History stands as a testimony to that!

A teacher in a local school in North London put it beautifully ,” At four years old, every child in your class is not the same, they’ve had four years of different cultures, different foods, different music, different art. When you look at 10-year-olds, 15-year-olds, there’s so much more they’ve experienced - we can’t treat everyone just the same.” 

“Children see themselves in the artists and musicians they study. . It is well known that children are e more engaged, and therefore behave better if taught about diversity early on ! 

The benefits of taking positive action on equality, diversity and inclusion are clear - and when that cultural shift is made, it improves everyone’s perspective. And although the journey can be a bit daunting, taking a closer look at the curriculum and utilising the power of the arts is a great place for everyone to start !