Showbiz celebrities have given their support to Arts Emergency to raise awareness of marginalised groups' struggle to get into the arts.
According to Arts Emergency, those who work in the creative industries are not representative of society as a whole. You are less likely to get a job in the creative sector if you are:
- black, Asian or from a minority ethnic background
- from a working-class background
- female
- disabled
- living outside of London and the South East.
And the margins of difference claimed by them are not insignificant. A mere 4.8% of people working in music, the visual and performing arts are black, Asian or from a minority ethnic background. The figure goes down to 2.7% for those employed in museums, galleries and libraries.
According to their figures, a person from a privileged background is four times more likely than a person from a working-class background to have a job in the creative industries, a ratio that has held over four decades. Currently only 16% of workers in film and TV currently identifying as working-class, and 40% of those in media are private school-educated.
This is the state of affairs that award-winning charity Arts Emergency wants to change with its #BreakTheGlass campaign.
One feature of the initiative is a "Break in Case of Arts Emergency" case which shows example of work by people at risk of being locked out of the creative sector, which launched at the Museum of London and then travelled to National Museums Liverpool.
This week has also seen celebrities across the entertainment world go online to call for change, encouraging creative professionals to help those from marginalised groups break into the sector. Amongst them were Jack Dee, Miranda Hart, Katy Brand, Michael Sheen, Neil Gaiman, Jenny Eclair, Samantha Morton, Nikesh Shukla and Chris Addison.
More than twenty-five organisations have joined the campaign including The British Film Institute, Get Up, Stand Up—The Bob Marley Musical, ATC Management and ATC Live and LinkedIn, with many offering virtual open days, internships, artist workshops and mentorship opportunities.
A new podcast, Crash Culture, will see Arts Emergency's youth collective discuss social justice and the cultural sector with those in the business.
Arts Emergency founder Neil Griffiths said, "no matter what you've achieved, someone at some time gave you a leg up, and Arts Emergency is thousands of people from across the cultural and creative industries doing just that for the next generation by donating money, time and contacts to help them get in and get on."