AIC Research
Cultural Diversity Research Evgeny Shtorn photographed at the 2019 AIC Scheme Summer School on Cultural Diversity and Collaborative Practice. Photo: Joseph Carr
In 2017, working closely with the Arts Participation team at the Arts Council, Create began to develop a programme of work within the AIC Scheme, to increase the capacity and engagement of artists and communities from ethnic and other minorities to access the Scheme. This focus on cultural diversity within the AIC Scheme is also in recognition of the changing demographic of Ireland and in response to the fragile conditions and challenging circumstances of displaced artists. The residencies and summer school are new initiatives developed during this time.
In addition to this, Create engaged Evgeny Shtorn as Artist in the Community Scheme Cultural Diversity Researcher. Evgeny has interviewed artists from minority ethnic backgrounds who have engaged with the Artist in the Community Scheme, as well as evaluating literature and research in this field, culminating in a research report in early 2020. This report evaluates the current state of affairs for migrant and minority ethnic artists working in collaborative arts in Ireland through interviews and quantitative analyses, before establishing a number of recommendations for the field.