Representation of Eastern European artists in British cultural institutions. Seeing and Practising Diversity and Decoloniality.
In Between Spaces report (Jones, Ceglarz, Centrala, 2021) has established the significant underrepresentation of Central, Eastern and Southeastern Europeans in cultural institutions of West Midlands. AHRC (Arts and Humanities Research Council) encouraged the expansion of this research to a national level to investigate the representation of Eastern European artists across the cultural institutions on the whole territory covered by the Arts Council England.
The cultural institutions that will be reviewed will include producing/curating organisations and galleries, festivals and cross-art/combined arts platforms. This research takes its starting point from the evidenced racialisation and marginalisation which Eastern European communities experience in the UK, and which might have transferred into the way they are represented in the cultural institutions across England.
In addition, the research seeks to interrogate the way diversity is currently understood, measured, monitored and performed, especially in relation to obtaining public funding for the artistic work through Arts Council England. Considering that Eastern European communities form the 2nd largest migrant group in the UK (according to the last Census) is not reflected in their representation within British arts and culture.
Finally, the research will seek to discuss decoloniality in terms of how we see and practise diversity work, especially in the context of artistic development and programming within arts and culture institutions.
Tina Hofman
Tina Hofman is a performance maker, creative producer and researcher. Born in former Yugoslavia, today Croatia, she emigrated to the UK over 20 years ago. Tina developed a professional practice which sits most comfortably between, on, or across borders. In 2015 she co-founded Notnow Collective with a fellow Croatian artist and writer Kristina Gavran – this internationally focused arts organisation platforms work made by migrant artists and interrogates how caring responsibilities fit within the established systems of work and life.
As an artist Tina nurtures a cross-practice collaborative approach using movement, live art, text and immersive sound. She makes, tours and curates work ranging from theatre shows, audio work, exhibitions through to site-specific immersive experiences. Between 2007 and 2018 she co-ran a multimedia arts platform with a gallery in Grožnjan, Istria, Croatia.
Tina is a co-founder of UK movement Migrants in Theatre, and a Resident Creative at Curve Theatre Leicester. In 2022 she started a PhD research with University of Birmingham and Centrala Space, looking at the representation of Eastern Europeans in British cultural institutions.
