Our commitment to Black Lives Matter

We are appalled by the recent murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis on 25 May, and the countless other Black lives, men and women, impacted by systemic racism.

A Woman’s Place Project was created in 2016 in response to the many inequities prevalent in the visual arts sector, with a particular focus on how these affect women. Our projects have sought to discuss, reflect on and stimulate societal change. Throughout our programming and team structures, we have sought to reflect the diversity of our society. This includes a discussion group, in partnership with New Hall Art Collection, looking at the lack of Black women in our national collections; the active recruitment for our intern programme from women of colour; and revealing the story of Grace Robinson, a Black laundress in the 17^th century household at Knole, brought to our attention by Lubaina Himid who was commissioned to produce new works in response to Grace’s story.

We have undoubtedly made mistakes along the way. We continue to listen and to educate ourselves, with the commitment to grow and action our understanding. Our development and programming is currently on pause. As an organisation to date reliant on public funding we cannot develop new programmes until the landscape is clearer however the thinking and planning continue behind the scenes. We can confirm that for future projects we will ensure that Black women’s voices are present, in our programming and recruitment. We will look at intersectional barriers, including the impact of the environmental crisis on black lives, and seek ways to overcome them.

We welcome constructive conversations that will support these objectives.

Black Lives Matter