“Last week Tara Theatre launched a community safe space to allow people to openly express their anger, sadness and sense of isolation in the wake of the nationwide violence.

This physical and virtual space provided artists, creatives, theatre-makers, and freelancers the opportunity to request time to share their response, and we are fortunate to be able to provide the space for this care.

In today’s volatile world, there is an urgent need for safe spaces like this and we ardently invite our colleagues in the wider arts community to support first and foremost their global majority identifying employees as well as their community of artists – not just in relation to their pastoral care, but also in relation to the type of work we see produced and staged.

The canon and narratives of these voices must evolve. Our stories need better representation to address the stereotyping and misrepresentation of our cultures and backgrounds, particularly this endemic of Islamophobia.

The race riots show why it’s vital for the cultural landscape of the UK to be representative of its true community. As a country defined by its colonial history and migration, stories from global majority and migrant artists are important now more than ever. The country needs a re-education, or a reminder of its history and identity. We call on arts organisations to invest more meaningfully in their artists, to commit to expanding the canon of voices and to stage more diverse stories.”

– Natasha Kathi-Chandra
Artistic Director, Tara Theatre