PRESS RELEASE: HUMAN ZOO BARBICAN CONTROVERSY COMES TO LIVERPOOL

BLACK ACTIVISTS RISING AGAINST CUTS (BARAC) UK PRESS RELEASE

 Human Zoo Barbican controversy comes to Liverpool

 

Black Activists Rising Against Cuts (BARAC) UK has teamed up with the International Slavery Museum, PCS union and MCARF (Merseyside Coalition against Racism and Fascism) to reopen the debate that arose in London around the Barbican’s Human Zoo exhibition & institutional racism in the arts & culture sectors . The debate is taking place in the International Slavery Museum, Albert Dock on Monday 27 October at 5.30pm and is part of the museum's Black History Month programme.

The Barbican exhibition, in which white South African artist Brett Bailey, featured live black performers shackled and in cages charged visitors £20 to enter. Despite claiming to be a piece of art challenging prejudice and racism, the work created a huge controversy in the art world and black and anti-racist campaign groups including BARAC UK objected to the exhibition and their campaign forced the Barbican to cancel the show. The controversy generated debates around institutional racism, the role of art and the meaning of art censorship.

Zita Holbourne, national co-chair of BARAC and a member of the PCS National Executive Committee, will be one of the speakers as a leading campaigner against the exhibition. She says: “The protest that led to the cancellation of the Barbican’s Human Zoo exhibition was not anti-art – it was anti-racist. It is not black communities that censor art, rather arts institutions  that censor black artists. As an artist I am passionate about art, but I don't believe that the rights of a piece of art should be placed above the rights of people to equality, humanity & dignity ”.
The debate will be chaired by Dr Richard Benjamin, the Director of the International Slavery Museum, and will be joined by councillor Anna Rothery and Professor David Peimer, author and professor at Edge Hill University. Dr Benjamin says: “For me there is nothing more important than the culture sector being subject to such scrutiny. The International Slavery Museum has a very clear ethos, we are a campaigning museum and as such use the museum and its content to challenge views/actions/ideologies that persist today.”
PCS union has been at the forefront of highlighting how budget cuts are impacting on local communities and workplaces, including the museums themselves. Clara Paillard, President of the PCS Culture Sector and union rep at the Liverpool museums said:  “At a time when black communities are disproportionately impacted by job cuts and huge cuts are being made to arts funding it is becoming harder for black artists to find work and showcase their talents. Institutional racism means that black people are the first affected by local cuts in arts &culture budgets”.

Please call 0151 478 4062 to reserve your free place.

Contact: Zita Holbourne, Co-Chair BARAC

Email: barac.info@gmail.com

VICTORY FOR BOYCOTT THE HUMAN ZOO CAMPAIGN - AS PROTESTORS CLOSE DOWN THE ENTIRE LONDON SHOW

ARTWORK BY JON DANIEL

After a month of campaigning against the degrading offensive racist human zoo  exhibition - known as Exhibit B, hosted by the Barbican, the 'boycott the human zoo' campaign has succeeded in closing it down on the opening night of the exhibition.  

This is a victory not just for the team of campaigners  which BARAC UK was proud to be a part of and who worked tirelessly, several behind the scenes, but the 22,500 people who signed Sara Myers' (who led the campaign) petition calling on the Barbican to withdraw the exhibition. Plus all the organisations that formed the campaign, representing over 1 million members as well as every individual who took part in the campaign.

We sent a clear message to The Barbican and to all institutions that are racist that black communities in the UK will not stand back and be disrespected. 

We have succeeded in stopping the human zoo in London but it is due to go to other countries, so a global response is needed.  Here in the UK a public inquiry and serious measures to address the deep rooted institutional racism that exists in the arts and culture industry  which is amplified by austerity and cuts to arts funding is needed. 

Drummers line the entrance to The Vaults

A fuller update will follow including details of a victory party. Please note and pass on that, as a result of the the entire London show being cancelled the planned protests outside the vaults for the rest of the week are also cancelled.
                                                                                      

Celebrating our Victory with some of the organisers of the campaign

Zita Holbourne, co-chair of BARAC UK with letter from the Vaults confirming the cancellation of the entire show

Protestors outside The Vaults Entrance (boycott the human zoo art)

 
                                                                                         

Sara Myers who started the campaign and petition with Co-Chair of BARAC UK, Lee Jasper & letter confirming cancellation of the show

Protestors block the entrance

Donna Guthrie, BARAC Women's Officer who handled the campaigns social networking

 


Thank you for your participation in this campaign. People Power! Collective Action! Unity!