‘We’d be hesitant to apply again’ – black artists on barriers to getting funding

Ashley Chadamoyo Makombe, a freelance arts and culture journalist, was among the black creatives invited to discuss the barriers that black and black-Irish applicants face when accessing Arts Council funding.

A recent report from the Arts Council found that these minority groups have a higher rate of ineligibility compared to other ethnic groups.

Ashley, co-founder of the GALPAL Collective, dedicated to community cultivation for queer folk, people of colour, migrants and women in arts and media, said her experience applying for funding in 2020 was “very intensive”.

“One of the main issues was ineligibility on parts of the application, which is a very fixable problem,” she said.

“There’s a lot of documentation and we weren’t even sure we understood the wording.

“We were approved, but we decided to go down another avenue because we found the information from the Arts Council very conflicting.”

She and her co-founder said the experience left them “hesitant” to apply for Arts Council funding again.

Black and black-Irish artists, performers and other creatives gathered to give feedback to the Arts Council this week on how the process could be improved.

While Ashley said she came away from the discussions feeling “positive”, this is only a great “first step”.

She added that the majority of black women would wait until they’re very established before applying for funding, and believes this is because black women are often held to a “higher standard”.

“There’s this expectation of excellence and to be ten times more qualified for something to gain half the recognition, and this is only amplified by race,” she said.

“We have to push ourselves so hard to get that recognition, and black women do feel like they need an exceptional amount of experience to get there in terms of career.

“This doesn’t necessarily guarantee you will be accepted or valued, but I think black women might be turned off by the process as we’re not given as much grace when it comes to making mistakes.

“We tend to be held as a group and not as individuals which adds a lot of pressure,” she added.

Artists and mentors gathered at the Project Arts Centre in Dublin city centre on Tuesday to discuss ongoing barriers facing black artists.

Other black artists in the report said that in order to get on stage you have to have had “such a demonstration of excellence, just to get the bare minimum”.

“Whereas promotion of regular everyday decent artists, a white artist, it’s easy. But to be a black artist, you have to be better than good to justify them giving you an opportunity,” they added.

The event, hosted by the Arts Council, offered veterans of the arts world the chance to pass on their advice to younger artists.

“As the funding body leading the development of arts in Ireland, it is imperative that we acknowledge the disparity in eligible applications of black and black Irish artists,” said Maureen Kennelly, Director of the Arts Council.

“The information in this report will help us address these challenges. Our goal is to ensure that all artists and arts communities feel connected with us and believe that the Arts Council is accessible and approachable.

“Feedback and direction from the black Irish artistic community will be vital as to how we ensure a positive, collaborative future together.”