[Commlist] Call for papers: CEDIA Conference - Inequalities and Diversity in the Arts and Creative Industries

Call for papers: CEDIA Conference - Inequalities and Diversity in the 
Arts and Creative Industries
Thursday 21st November, Birmingham City University, UK (in-person)

Since the publication of Angela McRobbie’s essay From Clubs to Companies 
in 2002 which highlighted the precariousness of creative and cultural 
work, there has been a steady increase in research focusing on the 
conditions of creative work. This work has revealed the tensions between 
creativity and commerce in contemporary arts work (Banks, 2007), the 
unstable and piecemeal working conditions (Hesmondhalgh and Baker, 2009) 
and the role of cultural policy in shaping the creative sector and its 
working conditions around the world (Oakley, 2009, 2016; O’Connor, 2010; 
De Beukelaer and Spence, 2018).
One strand of research in this area has highlighted the inequalities and 
lack of diversity across the media and creative sector, particularly in 
relation to the workforce and representation in the media (Banks, 2017; 
Saha, 2018; Nwonka and Malik, 2018; Brook, O’Brien et al, 2020). This 
work has revealed the structural inequalities built into the fabric of 
the arts and media industries, which affect who gets to work in the 
sector and what types of culture gets to be made.

These conditions have only been exacerbated by the effects of the 
COVID-19 pandemic (Comunian and England, 2020). Recent announcements by 
the UK government to cut arts funding in Higher Education and the 
dwindling arts budgets of local councils, with Birmingham and Nottingham 
cutting arts budgets significantly, paint a particularly bleak picture 
for the arts and creative sector. Research which is attentive to these 
ongoing challenges has never been more important.
This conference, hosted by the Centre for Equality, Diversity and 
Inclusion in the Arts (CEDIA) at Birmingham City University, aims to 
bring together research focusing on the conditions of work in the arts 
and creative sector, as well as potential interventions, theoretical 
contributions and actions moving forward.
We are looking for proposals within (but not limited to) the following 
areas:
•	Diversity in the creative workforce
•	Creative education and pathways into creative work
•	Experiences of creative work •	Postcolonial and indigenous 
perspectives and methodologies
•	Representation in the arts and the media
•	Intersectionality in the arts and creative industries •	Platform work 
(social media, streaming services, etc) and inequalities
•	Cultural policy and inequalities
•	Sustainability in creative work and inequality

Please send an abstract of no more than 500 words with a biography of up 
to 100 words to Rebecca Madden (rebecca.madden /at/ bcu.ac.uk) by Wednesday 
31st July 2024 6pm.
If you have any questions about the conference or wish to discuss your 
proposal please contact Dr Karen Patel, Director of CEDIA at 
(karen.patel /at/ bcu.ac.uk).
For postgraduate researchers we will be offering a bursary to cover the 
costs of travel to Birmingham to attend the conference. Registration 
details will follow soon.

The Centre for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion in the Arts (CEDIA) is 
an advocate and critical voice for equality, diversity and inclusion 
(EDI) in the arts, based at the Faculty of Arts, Design and Media at 
Birmingham City University. The Centre works with external creative 
practitioners and experts, BCU staff and students on projects and 
initiatives focused on EDI in the arts and creative sector.
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