All of us here at The Art Newspaper have been thinking about the best way to express our support for the Black Lives Matter movement at this critical time in the US, and in the wider world, following the devastating killing of George Floyd and the global shock-waves that are following in its wake.
The cause’s central assertion that every black life is precious is vital to how we think and behave as a team—which encompasses our 30 plus reporters worldwide—and as a newspaper group that represents the art industry internationally.
We address racism and inequality in our independent reporting, and we are committed to championing a brilliant new generation of black artists and black leaders, in what is still a woefully predominantly white industry. But we know that this is not enough.
We will redouble our efforts to shine a light on prejudice, injustice, tokenism and hypocrisy, to call for real diversity in the workforce, including our own team of writers and staff. We hope our reporting can contribute to much needed change and reforms in the way the art world operates, celebrates, and goes about its business.
As a starting point, we openly invite writers and journalists of colour who would like to contribute to our coverage to get in touch with us at news@theartnewspaper.com. We also encourage our readers to let us know what they would like to see more of. And alongside our ongoing stories on the rapidly changing situation in the US, we are compiling a list of educational and practical resources, which we will publish over the coming week.
