Recorded video of a public event hosted by AmberSide Gallery on August 7, 2020. In July, we wrapped up a three-week takeover of Side Gallery's Instagram account, where we curated photography from the African continent and the Diaspora focusing on the documentation of everyday people in their bedrooms. Expounding on our principle mission to promote the work of artists and writers from underrepresented backgrounds, in this talk, we explored the potential pitfalls of essentialism and the burden of representation in the arts. In an effort to dispel some of the most common myths about diversity and to transform the word “diversity” into tangible action, we introduced samples from varied writings on the issue, and combined our past experiences in practising art as Black and brown creatives within the regional scene of North East England.

Closed captions are available for this video. Please turn on subtitles within the video player, should you need them. The accompanying essay to this talk is also available here.