Widening representation at Culture Counts
Culture Counts has a remit to advocate on behalf of the entire arts, heritage and creative industries. To do so effectively, it is important that our network is representative of the diversity of that sector and works to improve that diversity by taking active steps to engage with those who are (or have been) typically underrepresented in cultural advocacy. Not to do so risks perpetuating privilege and maintaining an unequal distribution of power and resources, as well as limiting the effectiveness of our claim to represent the whole of the sector.
We’ve been working with our Steering Group to set out our actions, ambitions and next steps to realise this ambition, working at three scales:
1. Internal processes and operations
We’ve been actively working to improve representation in our team and strategic leadership by Black and people of colour creatives, and those based outside the central belt of Scotland. For the first time, we introduced a financial stipend to our Steering Group, to reduce financial barriers and enable those who would otherwise be unpaid to be remunerated for their work on this group.
We have a regular eye to the accessibility of Culture Counts events - via booking live captioners, using wheelchair accessible venues, experimenting with hybrid events and allocating budget to support additional access needs. There is more to do here, though, especially in looking beyond the practical accessibility of events and toward what more inclusive dialogue looks like for a wider range of people and perspectives.
Looking ahead: we should continue to seek to widen representation in our internal decision-making as membership of the team and Steering Group evolves. We are also keen to explore how our internal processes and procedures might recognise, support and reflect the diversity within the (current and future) team.
2. Representation across the Culture Counts network
Our network is our means of engagement with ‘the sector’, and it is important that it is representative of the diversity of cultural organisations in Scotland (whilst remaining true to our status as working with representative bodies). From autumn 2025, we will be launching and promoting a new free category of Culture Counts membership for those currently under-represented by the network, with the specific aim of broadening our connections with Black and PoC-led organisations, disabled-led organisations, and those working in languages other than English. We recognise that doing so might require us to provide increased accessibility support, and have allocated budget to do so.
We are also aware that advocacy is a time- and resource-intensive activity, and that access to the expertise and resources to carry it out is unevenly distributed amongst our network. Culture Counts has a role to play in addressing this imbalance, by:
Considering historic and current under representation when selecting speakers and case studies (e.g. at CPG meetings and in consultation responses),
Actively creating opportunities for less-heard perspectives to be heard by those in power
Paying for the time of those who would otherwise be required to participate in cultural advocacy on a voluntary basis.
3. Advocacy, projects and partnerships
We find that Culture Counts’ profile and access can add weight to campaigns led by minoritised groups. We will continue to explore how to offer this support meaningfully to campaigns by and with trusted organisations.
We are frequently offered opportunities to shape strategic activity for the sector. We can work to pro-actively question representation within the opportunities we are offered, and advocate for a wider range of perspectives to be included in those opportunities
We work regularly in partnership with organisations within and beyond the sector, including those representing freelancers. women, disabled people, Black and people of colour (BPOC) creatives, and those from working-class backgrounds. We are actively working to interrogate how we might be better partners in those relationships, sharing our respective areas of expertise whilst seeking to demystify and widen access to advocacy opportunities.
There is more to come on each of these areas of action. We’re committed to this as an ongoing, evolving and incomplete process, and one that is incorporated into every element of what we do. We know that our tiny team makes some actions challenge, whilst our reach and influence in the sector opens up particular opportunities and possibilities. If you’d like to explore partnership, offer critique, ask questions or make suggestions on any of the above (or something we’ve missed), please don’t hesitate to reach out.