In the wake of the police murder of George Floyd in May 2020, and the resurgence of the Black Lives Matter movement, we saw museum after museum - as well as other cultural organisations - release statements of support and anti-racist commitments. Some of those statements felt - and were justifiably called out as - performative, whereas others felt more sincere and purposeful. Many of us museum and cultural workers are still waiting and watching to see those institutions deliver on their promises.

Since May 2020 I have heard people in positions of influence & leadership talk about action plans, new steering groups, and DEI hires - some that look and sound encouraging, others that feel like hollow ‘inclusivity-speak’. And I have wondered, where does this leave freelance museum & cultural professionals, who often work in isolation and who are not included in these institutional conversations?

So in the summer of 2020 I joined forces with fellow freelancer Chloe Cooper to try and create an online space where freelance cultural colleagues could come together in anti-racist solidarity. We co-facilitated online gatherings since late 2020, meeting monthly. The aims of the space are:

  • To create and build solidarity within a cross-racial network of people who feel that anti-racism is an urgent issue in our sector

  • To share personal experiences in a supportive environment

  • To get peer support for particular challenges and problems

  • To hold conversations, sharing and relating to each other

  • To be fully present in the conversation without significant distractions

It is not a space:

  • For white people to listen passively & ‘learn’ from black people and other people of colour

  • For people with a staff position, even if part-time combined with freelancing

And it is also not a webinar or a ‘course’ on anti-racism, or a reading group.

We hope it will be useful as:

  • A place to talk openly about race and racism

  • A place of connection and intersecting but different experiences and perspectives

  • A place to reflect and grow

  • A place to return to regularly and feel at home

  • A place to meet new people and build relationships

  • A place to develop existing relationships

If this sounds like a space you would like to join, please drop me a line on ruth.garde@yahoo.co.uk to be added to our mailing list.