As an individual and a business I chose to partner with Barbican in early 2019 to create Can we talk about Power?, because I felt and still feel that Barbican offers a far reaching and relevant platform for this work. That doesn’t negate the personal and professional challenge of working with Barbican at this current time.
As a Black British female who is neurodiverse with mental health diagnoses, I have had to navigate my personal life and professional career from a marginalised position. I live with the tension of living and working in spaces that I rarely feel are designed for me.
My personal and professional feeling is that systemic injustice and racism is woven into organisations and institutions because of societal history and structures. It reflects the challenges which marginalised individuals face everyday.
My work is about creating equitable spaces, and in this instance my decision has been to continue to work in partnership with Barbican and Banff Centre for the Arts and Creativity.
I believe that power underpins injustice and that as individuals we all have to closely examine our personal and professional relationships with power. Can we talk about Power? offers us all an opportunity to do this.
I fully understand and support anyone’s decision to remove themselves as individuals or organisations from any harmful relationship. Further, I understand that at some points in our lives being an activist means stepping away and that my way of working is not for everyone.
If anyone would like to continue this conversation please email me at [email protected].
Suzanne Alleyne
Founder and Cultural Thinker
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