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Arts Council RFO's - small gains regarding diversity but Bright Space bucking this trend

Date Posted:17 May 2010

Arts Council England Regularly Funded Organisations (RFO’s) are making small gains in relation to diversifying their workforce. Their survey entitled: ‘Regularly Funded Organisations: Key data from 2008/9 annual submission’ shows a 2% rise of permanent Black and Minority Ethnic (BAME) staff between 2008/9 and 2007/8 at 11% and 9% respectively.

Bright Space bucks this trend with a rise in BAME staff of over 11% during 2009-2010. On the appointment of our new Director, Deborah Kermode in May 2009, we made it a priority to diversify our own workforce, as it was apparent that the Creative Agent (CA) freelancer team employed did not fully represent the communities served, especially in Birmingham. 
As a result Bright Space established a bursary scheme ‘Ignite,’ which sought to recruit BAME Creative Agents, offering tailored support to creative professionals who may not have considered opportunities with Bright Space previously.  Our ‘Igniters’ are due to celebrate the end of their first year with us this July.  Bright Space plan to sustain this development with a bursary opportunity for BAME creative practitioners starting September 2010.
Deborah Kermode, Director at Bright Space said: ‘I was conscious, along with our Board and staff that we had to address the issue of diversity, and not shy away from it. Our organisation and the creative programmes we run have become a great deal richer and more representative of the communities we serve as a result.’