Black Lives Matter statement, June 2020

Mimosa House is an organisation founded on intersectional feminist values. This means that we are committed to subverting and dismantling all forms of oppression through our work.

As a small arts organisation in it’s infancy, we have nonetheless been thinking about how we can help produce the change that is vitally needed, given the recent global Black Lives Matter protests, and the many resources we have been grateful to read in the weeks surrounding the horrific death of George Floyd in the US. It is important that we listen right now to the voices of Black artists and arts workers, who are sharing their numerous experiences of discrimination working in the industry of which we are part of.

We want to acknowledge the particular form of discrimination and violence that Black communities face. This is distinct from, but connected to, the racism experienced by non-Black people of colour, and likewise distinct from, but connected to, other forms of oppression such as those based on gender and sexuality. We recognise that dismantling systemic racism and anti-Blackness is a collective responsibility that we must all be actively engaged in.

Below we have shared some of our initial action points, to make sure we are actively addressing these issues through our work. We welcome your feedback on these starting points, as well as feedback on your experiences of our programme so far. Please feel free to email us now or any point.

Mimosa House Action Points, 8th June 2020:

1 Opportunities for Black artists

Our programme has aimed to highlight artists of colour since its inception in 2017. Having reviewed the diversity of our programming so far however, we recognise the importance of creating more significant opportunities specifically for Black artists (such as solo shows) in our future programme.

2 Diverse voices on our advisory board 

We are grateful to our advisors, who have offered generous support and guidance to help us grow as a small DIY initiative. As we look ahead to our growth as an institution, we will prioritise adding voices from the Black community to our board.

3 New staff

We are currently fundraising for a new curatorial member of staff whose focus will be on community outreach. We will prioritise Black and PoC candidates for the position, and make sure the vacancy is accessible to those outside of the arts sector. As always, we will support our team and anyone we employ to raise concerns about racism (or any other form of discrimination) during our work together.

4 Audiences

We will work to create a space in which Black audiences feel safe and welcome at all times. We understand it is our duty to make sure that the audiences inside our gallery space reflect the city in which it exists.

5 Supporting Black-led organisations 

We will look to connect with existing Black-led community projects when we move to our new venue in Holborn, offering support in whatever form we have capacity to.

As part of our new venue we plan to host visiting libraries and a reading space. Please get in touch with us if you have suggestions for mobile archives or libraries with a focus on Black writers.

6 Priority booking 

Based on the positive feedback previously received, we will continue to offer events for Black and PoC people only; we recognise how important such dedicated spaces continue to be for healing, knowledge sharing and community building.