Jasmine  Gardner

A 30,000 Word Rant: Mapping the Awkward Space Between "Representation" and "Tokenism" within British Arts-Related Institutions.

A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements of Manchester Metropolitan University for the degree of Master of Arts (by Research), 2023

Thesis Abstract: 

Preconceived cultural expectations in artworks produced by artists of colour has been a problematic issue which runs through the veins of the predominantly white-led British contemporary art discourse. Additionally, more recent movements such as Black Lives Matter and Stop Asian Hate which transpired in 2020 acted as catalysts for the revaluation of how these artists are and have been represented in cultural institutions. Although existing research has accessed theories of both ‘representation’ and ‘tokenism’, as separate entities, within the British visual arts, the ambition of this thesis is to map out the awkward space in between the two. Though younger (18-24) artists contribute to the contemporary discussion of these topics, this research shows that there are many social obstacles which makes this space in between ‘representation’ and ‘tokenism’ awkward to navigate.

Guided by an auto-ethnographical perspective, I outline and apply Hall’s ‘Representational theory’ and Kanter’s formalisation of ‘tokenism’, originally applied to gender studies, to young- emerging artists of Chinese (and ESEA) diaspora, or relating heritage, in Britain, I identify key social problems which are being upheld by the leading white narrative. Alongside recent case studies like the defunding of the Centre of Chinese Contemporary Art (CFCCA), I interrogate the argument that the stability of a leading narrative has an integral effect on the stability of a young Chinese/ESEA’s artistic position within a British art context. Furthermore, by applying Kanter’s three perceptual tendencies to the thesis’ subject, I identify reasons which contribute to the lack of confidence one has to be able to confront tokenistic gestures.

This research concludes with a conceptualisation of three key social ‘landmarks’ which I argue contributes to the awkwardness between ‘representation’ and ‘tokenism’: 1) one’s lived experience as a non-white artist being a social or financial trend, 2) becoming the solution to the problem of the deeply-embedded colonial mindset, and 3) being the ticked box which ensures an institution receives funding.

Please visit Manchester Metropolitan's E-Space to read my thesis.