Cultural diversity policies are booming in the arts. Former culture minister David Lammy pressured national museums and galleries to set targets for ‘Black and Minority Ethnic’ staff; the Arts Council, Museums and Libraries Association and others all promote cultural diversity initatives. The idea is that these help artists and practioners get a much-needed foot in the door. However a number of recent studies have been highly critical of such schemes, arguing that they pigeonhole non-white artists; engaging with them on the basis of their ethnicity rather than their work, and that this creates a cultural apartheid by separating them from the mainstream. Are these criticisms valid, or is it still necessary to take steps to encourage and develop talent from under-represented communities?
 | Sonya Dyer artist and arts consultant; author, Boxed In: How Cultural Diversity Policies Constrict Black Artists |
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 | Naseem Khan OBE journalist and broadcaster; former head of diversity, Arts Council; author, The Art Britain Ignores |
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 | Andrew Brighton writer and painter; contributing editor, Critical Quarterly; former senior curator for public programmes, Tate Modern |
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 | Dr Tiffany Jenkins writer and broadcaster; author, Keeping Their Marbles: how treasures of the past ended up in museums and why they should stay there |
| Dr Tiffany Jenkins writer and broadcaster; author, Keeping Their Marbles: how treasures of the past ended up in museums and why they should stay there | |
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 | recommended by spiked |
