Whether you’re a photographer, designer or director, carving out a place within a notoriously competitive creative marketplace is not easy. For black creatives, however, there is the additional challenge of navigating the lack of access and diversity within these industries.
A 2017 report from the Department of Digital, Culture, Media and Sport found that around 11% of jobs in the UK’s creative economy were filled by Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) workers. Although this is an increase from previous years and 11% is near the national average, the figures may be slightly misleading.
For one thing, the report’s authors note that the high concentration of creative jobs in multicultural London means that if the same ratio were seen across the country, nearly 18% of the creative workforce would come from a BAME background. Another problem is that the given groups are not distinct, so it’s impossible to tell whether the majority of creative businesses are actually representative of their communities.
London-based music marketer Rianne Gordon says she noticed the lack of diversity, and specifically the lack of black representation, during her time working in corporate PR and later in the music industry.