Cultural policy and ethics of care: an exploration of experiences of cultural entrepreneurs from diverse communities in Western Canada

Through a SSHRC grant, Deniz Unsal and Taiwo Afolabi are investigating strategies of Indigenous and racialized artists to raise awareness of discrimination and to amplify the social value of the arts.

In our research, we examine the connection between Canadian cultural policy and the experiences of self-employed independent artists and arts leaders from Indigenous, Black and racialized communities across four provinces of western Canada, namely, British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba, who engage in community-based arts practices. Their work prioritizes reciprocity, decolonization, community building and care.

Cultural policy includes a set of government actions and initiatives aimed at recognizing and supporting artistic and cultural expressions, epistemes and practices. It informs the values and practices embraced by arts organizations in the country. Experiences of the artists we interviewed demonstrate how they navigate mainstream structures that cannot always fully respond to the values of relational accountability, reciprocity and care that these artists from equity-owed communities work with. In this context, their strategies are fundamental in understanding the production of social good and the social value of the arts within the existing structures. It is, therefore, crucial to engage the lens of equity, diversity and inclusion and the notion of social good against the dominance of economic good in the cultural sector. Who else can offer the cultural sector a "bottom-up," robust and nuanced collective perspective other than the artists themselves? We ask, in what ways might the social value creation strategies of Indigenous, Black and racialized self-employed artists contribute to the making of an equitable Canadian cultural policy? We query what values cultural policy needs to entail to advance issues of equity and equality within the Canadian cultural sector.

The recognition of the value created through community-based art practices has drawn our attention to the need for a paradigm shift within policy-making. Cultural policy in Canada is designed to support the expression of diverse cultural identities and traditions recognizing Canada’s official multiculturalism policy established in 1971. Reconciliation, equity and inclusion have become key concepts to guide policies in the arts landscape. We argue that as long as these concepts are embedded within the values and practices of a neoliberal economy and a traditional liberal perception of individual rights and justice, they will not initiate a change needed to disrupt colonial epistemologies and systems that perpetuate power imbalances. We embrace care ethics as a conceptual framework for decolonizing policy-making in the field of culture because it places strong emphasis on the interconnectedness of individuals within communities. We argue that it would support a policy that prioritizes the well-being of marginalized and racialized communities and privilege community-based arts practices and diversity of knowledge that can enhance policy-making. This research is guided by community-based participatory research framework, a collaborative approach to research that is driven by an equitable partnership between community members and academic researchers. Our premise for creating knowledge is based on Participatory Action Research (PAR).

Our research is team is composed of Deniz Ünsal, Taiwo Afolabi, Yvette Nolana, Luba Kozak and Fonon Nunghe. Please see here for more: https://equitycp.ca/