Principles, Ethics and Rights
Case Studies
Racial Microaggressions
Elizabeth works in a small team at an arts organisation. She is the only person of colour in the organisation, including the board. While working on a project that includes a number of artists from East Asia, a board member makes a number of jokes based in racial stereotypes. When Elizabeth brings this up to her manager, she is told that it was ‘meant as a harmless joke’ and not take it too seriously. The matter is not brought up again, but Elizabeth now feels culturally unsafe in her work environment, which starts to impact her work. What can Elizabeth do?
The responsibility lies with the manager to take Elizabeth’s concerns seriously, and support Elizabeth. The manager should speak with the board member about the inappropriate nature of the jokes. The organisation as a whole should also consider the diversity of its staff and board, and whether updated policies should be written into the workplace code of conduct.
Tokenism
Jay is an artist from a refugee background. They have recently been invited to participate in a group exhibition by a curator at a public gallery, and note that they are the only person of colour in the exhibition. The curator asks Jay to provide ad-hoc advice on cultural questions and to do media interviews that touch on the political situation in their country of origin. Jay feels a heavy weight of responsibility in being asked to speak for their entire community. Jay is an early-career artist, and this would be their first inclusion in an exhibition at a gallery of this scale. What should Jay do?
Racialised artists are frequently placed in these compromising situations, where their inclusion adds ‘diversity’ to the program. The exhibition curator should ensure that any artists selected for exhibition are meaningfully included, and that due processes of cultural care are undertaken to ensure artistic safety. If Jay was to undertake any additional consultation work, such as sharing suggestions for other artists for inclusion in the exhibition, this work should be recognised, and honoured with an appropriate consultation fee.