There are venues, but often our community faces barriers that make us feel out of place. This can be financial barriers, the requirement to pay for drinks to use a space stacks up when you’re looking for somewhere to work every day. Feelings of being unwelcome and out of place are reinforced by lack of representation. Cultural differences are not properly understood or taken into account by available venues. Frequently, where equipment is available, access is restricted and comes with conditions, such as signing up to the interests of venues and existing projects, limited hours of access, fees and ‘fitting in’ rather than being able to access creative resources freely. Institutions aren’t safe spaces for us. White-owned and white-run, often charging too much or not reaching the right people, with top-down control and priorities. Management of these places does not trust diverse artists to do things for themselves, and create access issues.
“A LOT OF VENUES GIVE YOU THAT FEELING OF YOU’RE LUCKY TO BE HERE.”; “EVEN BEING IN THAT SPACE MADE ME THINK ‘COULD I EVEN SIT HERE AND CREATE IF I WANTED TO?’ - I COULDN’T RELAX.”; “I DON'T SEE MYSELF IN THESE SPACES, NOT REPRESENTED VISUALLY OR IN STAFF OR VISITORS - IT MAKES IT HARD TO EXPRESS FULLY.”; “PEOPLE HAVE BEEN BROUGHT IN FOR BITS OF WORK AND PERFORMANCES AT SPACES LIKE WMC BUT IT’S ALWAYS FOR A REASON, YOU SERVE THEIR PURPOSE.”; “THEY WANT US IN THERE FOR THE LOOK OF IT.”
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