There is a growing recognition that female writers and artists are underrepresented in terms of reviewing and prizes, and when you are a woman from an ethnic background, then the list shrinks yet again. When women from ethnic backgrounds enter the arts, we are suffering not only from a lack of representation, but cultural capital in the way of role models and networks. The way we overcome this is to create our own. There are, however, some challenges that unify us.
‘I naively expected that the arts would be my liberator, my expression at the forefront of my arts practice. I soon realised that one must be on their best behaviour to get ahead. But at that time, I was still finding myself after years of repression and living in a cultural bubble. I wanted to say what I wanted to say and people didn’t like it.’
