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.

Over the last two and half years 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 have been co-facilitating online gatherings since late 2020, and currently meet 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.