Social Affairs

Marginalised and minority groups face discrimination in arts sector, study finds

Research under Irish Theatre Institute’s Safe to Create programme shows 43% of LGBTQIA+ artists surveyed faced microaggression based on gender identity or sexual orientation

Dr Ciara Murphy, Niamh O'Donnell and Emma Dabiri at the launch of the report entitled Amplify: A Call For Transformative Action. Photograph: Marc O'Sullivan

Simran Kathuria
Wed Jul 3 2024 - 18:56

Artists and art workers from minority groups experience ableism, homophobia, racism and transphobia and are losing opportunities because of it, research by the Irish Theatre Institute (ITI) has found.

The research, entitled Amplify: A Call For Transformative Action, includes the lived experiences of artists across the arts spectrum who belong to disabled, LGBTQIA+ and ethnically diverse communities. The majority of respondents are either visual artists or theatre artists and arts workers.

The two strands of research done under ITI’s Safe to Create programme show 43 per cent of LGBTQIA+ artists have faced microaggression based on their gender identity or sexual orientation. Some 40 per cent of ethnic minorities have experienced racial discrimination in the workplace, while 56 per cent of disabled artists across the sector felt excluded from the workplace due to lack of care.

The second strand found two out of three intellectually disabled employees are devoid of ample time to perform as an artist.

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“There hasn’t been a dedicated study in this area at all. Out of 500-plus respondents in strand one, the the largest number came from the LGBTQIA+ community, followed by disabled and ethnic minority groups. The stats are stark across the sector. There are multifaceted reasons for this, but we observed that publicly subsidised institutions in the arts sector are not engaging with these groups sufficiently,” said Safe to Create project manager Grainne Pollak.

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The data gathered under the programme over the course of 18 months also highlights a lack of understanding and awareness, and a lack of commitment in the sector, with 60 per cent of respondents being afraid to raise the issue due to fear of reputational damage.

“For a long time I hid or minimised my disability of being visually impaired. Owning my full identity for progression was a barrier. I overcompensated, and pretended to do difficult things. I didn’t always call attention to this. Now, I speak up because I felt if we are not opening the doors for change then we are not allowing other disabled artists to come forward,” says an Irish vocal jazz artist Emilie Conway.

Meanwhile, Coimisiún na Meán has released a strategy report on Gender, Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (GEDI) in the Irish media sector. The report mentions greater initiatives to be taken for women and minority groups working across the Irish film, television, radio, audio and animation production sectors.

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Speaking about the GEDI strategy, Coimisiún na Meán media development commissioner, Rónán Ó Domhnaill, said: “An Coimisiún will continue to encourage initiatives to enhance the diversity of the media sector in Ireland, and through our own sectoral development and funding schemes will support activities aimed at making the media sector in Ireland more inclusive.”

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