Blog

Guest Post: Centring Marginalised Voices in the Scottish Arts and Cultural Sectors

EMCC are collaborating with Creative Balance on an exciting research project, which seeks to centre marginalised voices in the Scottish arts and cultural sectors. Phase one of the project will gather knowledge on the importance of by-and-for spaces, led by racialised creatives. The research will highlight why these safe spaces matter, how they protect mental health,  what these spaces could look like, how they would function and the difference they could make to the creative practice and wellbeing of BPOC creatives. In this blog, Creative Balance’s researcher, Loa Pour Mirza, tells us more.  

We are excited to be working with Creative Balance on your current research project. Can you tell us a little about Creative Balance, its origins and aims?

Creative Balance was borne out of a need to capture, and then amplify, the experiences of racialised creatives navigating the Scottish cultural and creative landscapes. There is already a wealth of evidence that points to the disproportionate prevalence of mental ill-health amongst racialised communities in the UK (1), which can be attributed to a wide range of factors such as experiences of racism, poverty, over-policing, stigma and barriers to accessing support (2). Additionally, it is well-documented how varying intersecting identities and social inequalities can interact with health outcomes (3). For creatives of colour this is compounded by the unsurprising reality that Scotland’s creative industries are predominantly white-led (4), leaving them more often than not in precarious and unstable positions which further exacerbate ill-health.  

In a climate where conversations around mental health are being mainstreamed, with governments and institutions implementing strategies to tackle what has been regularly referred to as a ‘crisis’, it feels more apt than ever for us to pierce through the noise and carve out spaces to have honest conversations about our experiences and what we actually need to be able to create a sector where the most marginalised can thrive. 

Could you share a brief overview of the research project? 

The first step of our research project involved forming a steering group made up of 10 practitioners across the arts and healthcare sector and running group sessions to discuss people’s experiences in order to inform the direction of our project. A core theme that emerged was the need for safer, by-and-for led spaces.  

Designing the research methodology was the next step. We landed on two methods - collage-making and collective mind mapping. We decided to weave participatory and creative methods into our approach for several reasons. Firstly, it is our way of resisting what is considered valid and objective knowledge (commonly referred to as hard data) as we recognise the inherent value in our lived experiences. Creative methods also enable participants to express their ideas without an explicit reliance on spoken language, which we felt was fitting given the diversity of the communities we hope to engage with. Collage-making in particular is considered to have therapeutic qualities as it encourages participants to engage in a deeper reflective process of meaning-making. Doing this in a group setting creates an opportunity for participants to connect with others and develop shared understandings of their experiences. The idea is that through this research process, we are creating a microcosm of a by-and-for led creative space.  

Language is another area we felt important to look at as it is ever-changing and often imperfect, yet it can determine how well we are understood and the support we can access. We decided to host a focused session with the steering group to help determine the most appropriate language to use in this research project. As expected, there were varying perspectives which is reflective of the heterogeneity of those of us who are grouped together under acronyms such as ‘BAME’ or ‘BPOC’. The reality is, we are not a monolith and so there needs to be space to self-identify in a way that honours our unique experiences.  

As a team we settled on the term ‘racialised’ as it reflects an active process whereby we are categorised by the white-led systems we exist within. When it comes to ‘mental health’, a consensus was reached that ‘wellbeing’ feels more expansive as it does not solely locate health within the mind and, much like the term ‘racialised’, it does not feel static but rather points to a flowing spectrum of being well to being unwell. 

How will racialised women in the creative industries inform, and also benefit from, this research? 

A report by Generational Equal (5) highlighted the gender inequalities that exist within Scotland’s creative sector, with women more likely to occupy part-time positions and earning on average less than their male counterparts. What is missing from this narrative is the experience of racialised women who may face additional discrimination due to their race or ethnicity, as well as economic and geographical barriers. Our research will enable us to capture the unique perspectives of a range of practitioners who may hold varying intersecting identities, ensuring that any re-envisionings of Scotland’s creative sector centre the most marginalised. We also feel it is important to mention that spaces in the creative sector which are led by women are usually white, which begs the question of where this leaves racialised women and gender minorities. Our research is a call for meaningful allyship from those who are in positions of power, white women included, to reflect on their organisational practices and consider ways in which they can show up effectively for their racialised peers. 

What makes this a vital research project for Scotland’s creative sector? 

Since the popular resurgence of the Black Lives Matter movement in 2020 (6) we have seen an uptake of Diversity and Inclusion initiatives across the creative sector however, the truth is that they tend to fall short of what they hope to achieve (7). This is partly because they come across as tick-box exercises that don’t lead to meaningful, structural changes, but also because these initiatives are not spearheaded by-and-for the people they are intended to benefit.  

Through our research, which we hope will transform into a longer-term project, we intend to amplify the voices and experiences of people on the ground to inform and enrich the new visions we hold for Scotland’s creative sector. I asked our team to put forward their visions and what emerged was the following: 

• A thriving sector in which prevention rather than crisis response shapes organisational practices; 

• An equitable sector in which cultural safety is centred, with effective accountability mechanisms for when organisations and individuals fall short; 

• A rights-based sector, which ensures that people are treated with dignity and respect both emotionally and financially; 

• A blueprint that ensures we are addressing intersecting inequalities so that no one gets left behind. 

We don’t see this as an unrealistic dream but rather as a tangible vision well within reach - a vision which we can only achieve if we mobilise collectively. 

What are your next steps in terms of the research? 

We are running our group interviews over September and October 2025, and what emerges from these spaces will inform our next steps. We do have some exciting developments in the pipeline however, as with many things in this sector, it is dependent on funding. You can follow our website where we will be posting updates.  

References:

1. https://lampardinquiry.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/DC15-Race-Equality-Foundation-Racial-disparities-in-mental-health-Literature-and-evidence-review.pdf#
2. https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/explore-mental-health/a-z-topics/black-asian-and-minority-ethnic-bame-communities
3. https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/explore-mental-health/publications/tackling-social-inequalities-reduce-mental-health-problems
4. https://www.creativescotland.com/resources-publications/publications/policies/equalities-in-creative-scotland/mainstreaming-reports 
5. https://www.generationequal.scot/arts-and-creative-industries-what-we-already-know/
6. https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/nine-minutes-in-may-how-george-floyds-death-shook-the-world/
7. https://bellacaledonia.org.uk/2021/02/28/people-of-colour-and-the-creative-industries-in-scotland-a-post-2020-reflection/ 

About the writer:

Loa Pour Mirza (she/her) is a pluralistic therapist, community researcher and workshop facilitator based in Glasgow. Being part of the Iranian diaspora and with an extensive background in migrant justice organising, her interest lies in the intersection of structural inequality and oppression, intergenerational trauma, and bodymind health/ill-health.