CITYIST.qxp_Layout 2 23/10/2020 13:52 Page 1
ist
THE CITY St George’s is among those to have received emergency funding
My
BRISTOL Meet the University of Bristol’s Centre for Black Humanities director and academic Professor Madhu Krishnan Born and raised just south of Boston, I moved to California for university, spent six years in France, the Czech Republic, India and China and moved to the UK for my PhD studies. I came to Bristol for my first permanent academic position in 2013. It was one of those crisp, blue spring days, and I walked around the Harbourside marvelling at how happy everyone looked.
Local arts lifeline There were sighs of relief in the city recently as the government announced a £1.57 billion rescue package to help see the live events industry through the effects of Covid-19, which has seen many theatres, galleries and music venues closed since March. In Bristol, we heard that 29 of our much-loved arts organisations would receive a lifeline from the government, helping ensure their future in our communities. The offer went some way towards reassuring employees, employers and audience members that the pandemic would not result in the permanent death of a sector that brought £32.3 billion into the UK economy just two years ago. After months of intense lobbying on the part of cultural leaders, the fund has provided necessary support to 1,385 venues and organisations across the UK. The fate of the arts has never looked so grim, with little or no audiences, shuttered venues, and no end in sight to lockdown restrictions. In August, venues showed their solidarity by lighting up red, symbolising the sector going in to ‘red alert’ amid the pandemic and calling for urgent government support. The lobbying simply highlighted how heavily reliant the industry is on an ecosystem of thousands of freelancers, designers, technicians and performers, many of whom have been left without any form of income. Bristol’s recipients applied for grants of under £1 million in the second round of the Culture Recovery Fund. St George’s Bristol, Bristol Old Vic, SS Great Britain Trust, Watershed Arts Trust were among those able to secure a place on the list. Although the fund has come too late for some organisations and there are still no clear guidelines outlining the industry’s safe reopening, we celebrate the development for these community cornerstones that provide joy and escape for both performers and audiences alike.
10 THE BRISTOL MAGAZINE
|
NOVEMBER 2020
The Centre for Black Humanities was established three years ago. The Faculty of Arts has expanded significantly with huge growth in staff numbers working on topics relating to African and African diaspora cultures, including Black British literature, African American writing, Black arts, hip hop, philosophy, race and social justice, Black history. A big part of why we felt this was so important had to do with being in Bristol; an important site in terms of its role in the transatlantic slave trade, but also as a crucible for Black artistic and cultural production. Despite being a vibrant, diverse city, Bristol remains incredibly unequal. It has been eyeopening to see the stark differences between where I work, and where I live in East Bristol. At the same time, there’s an entire cultural and intellectual life that feels so separate from the university; it was crucial our work engage with this. We share knowledge with different organisations and it’s been beneficial for the way we think about research. We work with partners across Europe, North America and Latin America; literary collectives in Cameroon, Uganda, Kenya, Nigeria, Somaliland. I hope we keep growing in strength and profile, as a civic, not just academic, institution. The MA in Black humanities is exciting. At the time it was developed, there were no courses of this kind in the UK, focusing on interdisciplinary approaches to explore the intellectual and cultural production of communities of African descent. The MA involves work with local activists, arts and community groups, drawing on cutting-edge research to engage with debates concerning racialised identities, representation and ethics. I’m also excited about a large-scale citizen science programme that would explore new methodologies for understanding city history, legacies and questions of reparative justice. We also recently received funding for a two-year project on Black humanities and health, which is really significant. I love Bristol-Bath Railway path for runs, Frome Valley walkway, Stoke Park Estate, Purdown and
|
No 194
Twitter: @ProfMadhuK
Greenbank Cemetery for walks. I live close to Sweet Mart, basically the best grocery store in Bristol. Jeevan’s has the best samosas in town and I can’t say no to the vegan cinnamon swirls at the Bristol Loaf. Real Habesha Ethiopian restaurant is my favourite in Bristol. I love poking around all the little shops on Stapleton Road. You can truly get anything here, and the shopkeepers are always up for a chat about how the area’s changed over time. I am at the beginning of a five-year project on literary activism in Nigeria, Kenya, Cameroon, Uganda and Côte d’Ivoire, funded by the European Research Council. Not being able to travel to work with people has been hard but I aim to think about new approaches and keep up with friendships from afar. I’m glad the University is taking work to redress the curriculum seriously. Bottom-up and grassroots work is incredibly important but at a certain stage you need institutional backing to make large-scale change. I’m proud to see how emphatically the University is starting to step up, thinking about its own history and what reparative justice might look like. Dr MarieAnnick Gournet has done incredible work on decolonising the curriculum. I am a trained musician in European and South Indian classical traditions and mostly I listen to classical music (currently Rubinstein playing Chopin) when I work. Other artists on heavy rotation lately include Papa Wemba, Nina Simone, the Vaselines and Tegan and Sara! If I was mayor, I’d deliver better bus links. Outside of the centre it can be really hard to get around if you aren’t able to walk or cycle. n
