Jacob Talkowski, Mound 2021. Take away containers. Exhibited at Pure Class, presented by the Royal College of Art Working Class Collective X Working Class Creatives Database. 399 Hornsey Road, London. Photo credits to Elise Guillaume, IG: @elise_guillaume
Activity in 2021
This first year of the Working Class British Art Network coincided with a sharp rise in national conversation about the current state of the British class system. With the publication of important research by the Creative Industries Policy and Evidence Centre (PEC) alongside other key texts, questions about the representation of working-class people in the arts sector rose to the fore and undoubtedly contributed to the popularity of the group.
The network began with three key aims:
- To create a definition of ‘working-class’ in a museum context
- To highlight the barriers that prevent working-class artists from accessing the
- To identify was working-class programming looks like
Initial stages of the network included a survey of other individuals and/or organisations who were working in a similar area. Among many others the group made connections with The Working Class Creatives Database and What’s Your Working Class? Podcast led by Aidan Teplitzky leading to an interview with the network lead, Beth Hughes, available here.
The group’s first event was direct in approach, simply called ‘Let’s Talk About Working Class British Art,’ and involved three speakers sharing their experience of the sector, each touching on how class-based barriers intersect with disability, gender and race. Here the group began to create a definition of ‘working-class’ in relation to the museum, asking: How does it operate? What are the commonly felt markers of class? What class-based behaviours do arts organisations propagate?
Recognising that inviting working-class artists to only talk about class risks being reductive, we took the position that artist members should have the opportunity to contribute to all debates around British art. Chaired by academic, Dr Katie Beswick, the group held an event called The City in British Art looking at a working-class perspective of the urban environment as a source of inspiration. The event highlighted the need to ensure working-class perspectives are not just included but embedded into all research areas.
A recurring theme throughout this first year has been the importance of community for working-class artists. When you don’t have generational wealth to fall back on there is a greater dependence on community, often generational community, to provide a safety net. Building on an initial survey, the third event was produced in partnership with the Working Class Creatives Database, returning to some of the discussions from the opening event, although this time with artists earlier in their careers.
The first year has only scratched the surface of what is needed to understand working-class representation in British art. From the outset we have found a demand for a definition of ‘working class’ and identified a need for more research to better understand how class operates in our field. The highlight of this programme has been the direct, and often highly personal, accounts shared by artists. This network is human-centred, it puts the experiences of artists at the centre, it listens, and will continue to do so in order to remain relevant.
Beth Hughes, January 2022
