Agency

We recognise that Arika has, over time, accrued certain access to resources and potential to leverage funding that others might not be able to access.

In our Episodes, we try to use those resources to centre the ideas, voices and practices of communities seeking to dismantle the oppressions that are disproportionately killing them and damaging all of us.

Through our Local Organising project, we dedicate around a quarter of our programme funds and one permanent member of Arika to local political groups (sex worker led, migrant led and anti-poverty organising groups), and co-operate with them to create events initiated and chosen by the groups.

Through collaborative projects like I wanna be with you everywhere and Master Ballstar Weekend we have brokered situations where communities can access art world resources, and work with them to create events and work that reflect how they would like to make use of those resources.

Whilst as a group we inhabit multiple different identities, lived experiences and backgrounds, we acknowledge that at present all current permanent staff members of Arika are white. As such we recognise that the above work is not enough.

Additionally, we want to acknowledge the key contributions previous staff members who are People of Colour have made. They, in conjunction with many BIPOC artists, activists and scholars with whom we have long term collaborations, have shaped Arika creatively and politically. We want to acknowledge these contributions whilst also being in the process of taking responsibility for who is represented and holds agency at Arika.

We are in the process of fundraising and holding recruitment processes for new core staff roles at Arika. Alongside this we are revising our recruitment processes as a whole, in recognition of the implicit biases within the art world which disproportionately centre whiteness. We have a definitive commitment to employ more BIPOC staff at Arika across various roles and are examining our internal structures in order to be able to do this in a meaningful way. We acknowledge the wisdom and labour undertaken by BIPOC in creating resources and calling whiteness to account that informs and enables this work. This work is never finished and remains crucial to all of our continued activity.