Image credit: Paul Ayre This article, written by Kevin Osborne, is also published on his LinkedIn page. Arts Council England (ACE)’s new National Portfolio investment 2023-26 will increase funding to racially diverse-led organisations from 2.4% to 8.4% (£37.67m per annum). If it materialises, this would be a meaningful step towards meeting its own commitment to allocate
Image credit: Paul Ayre This article, written by Kevin Osborne, is also published on his LinkedIn page. The war in Ukraine, the cost-of-living crisis, the Northern Ireland protocol, levelling up and partygate have pushed Black Lives Matter from the headlines. And the priority given to underlying racial inequalities – in education, criminal justice and the arts
Image credit: Paul Ayre This article, written by Kevin Osborne, is also published on his LinkedIn page. How will Arts Council England square the circle of delivering increased funding to regions outside London while also meeting its commitment to increase funding to Black-led* organisations? asks Kevin Osborne. This commitment was made in the wake of Covid
Image credit: Paul Ayre This article, written by Kevin Osborne, is also published on his LinkedIn page. The existential question of race inequity demands new solutions. Kevin Osborne and Genevieve Maitland Hudson explore the potential of impact investment. Not every business owner in the UK is in the same position today. If you’re a white entrepreneur your access to
Image credit: Paul Ayre This article, written by Kevin Osborne, was first published in Arts Professional. Funding ‘criteria’ tell you what a funder will or won’t support, but organisational ‘constraints’ ultimately determine what gets funded, says Kevin Osborne. There are written rules when applying for arts funding: set criteria which outline the funder’s priorities, the activities
Image credit: Paul Ayre This article, written by Kevin Osborne, was first published in Arts Professional. A reluctance to share opinions openly is a significant block to achieving racial equity. But as Kevin Osborne argues, without understanding prevailing attitudes to racial inequity we are unlikely to reach effective solutions. For the last 12 months I have been
MeWe360’s CEO, Kevin Osborne, writes in an article published in Arts Professional about the need for funders to distribute resources equitably. I was optimistic about the possibility for change to the stark and urgent problem of only 2.4% of regular arts funding going to BAME* organisations when the BAME population is 14%. But as I
Two weeks ago I produced an online event with MeWe360 ‘Funding BAME Creativity – Exploring The New Normal’. The aim of the event was to ‘dig deep’ into the systemic racial bias in UK arts funding. Bringing together major funders in the sector, our panelists included Francis Runacres, Executive Director, Enterprise & Innovation, Arts Council England; Dame Caroline
MeWe360‘s CEO Kevin Osborne has published this piece on his LinkedIn, continuing the fantastic debate around the acronym BAME. The article has also been published on 29th April 2021 on Arts Professional. You can read the piece below. Photo designed by Paul Ayre. BAME OVER – THE UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES Several people have challenged my
The distribution of Arts Council England’s Culture Recovery Fund has attracted widespread criticism, not least from those campaigning for greater diversity. Kevin Osborne calls for urgent action. Huge energy has been expended by Arts Council England (ACE) on distributing the £1.7 billion Culture Recovery Fund (CRF). There is a clear need for this distribution of funds at