The panel speaking at the Class Ceiling event in The Whitworth gallery(Image: Rebecca Lupton)
Imagine life without the talents of Peter Kay, Caroline Aherne, John Cooper Clarke or the Gallagher brothers. That is what one inquiry has warned would happen for Greater Manchester’s future stars if things don’t change.
The Class Ceiling report says the working classes in the city-region are struggling to break into the creative sector. Class-based discrimination, low pay, a lack of connections, fewer gig venues and exploitative practices are all seen as barriers to working class talent breaking through.
The inquiry has been fronted by the chancellor of the University of Manchester, Nazir Afzal and co-chair Avis Gilmore, former Deputy General Secretary of one of Europe’s biggest trade unions.
The pair officially launched the inquiry report at an event in the Whitworth Art Gallery off Oxford Road in Manchester this week.
A plethora of people from the arts sector sat in the audience and listened to artists and experts in the field explain just how gentrified it has become. The event was opened by a speech from Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham – who has championed the cause.
He pushed for more paid placements for young people going into the arts and media sector.
The Class Ceiling inquiry takes its findings from over 150 hours of interviews with artists ranging from teenage musicians and mid-career arts workers to globally recognised playwrights and BAFTA and Emmy winning screenwriters. The inquiry found anger, despair and seeds of hope in the voices they heard, the crowds in the gallery’s Grand Hall were told.
The report read: “For a region famed for its working class culture, it presents an existential threat. If the outpouring of talent that has long fertilised Manchester begins to dry up, then the city is at risk of losing its identity.
“Imagine our region stripped of the talents of Peter Kay, Sophie Willan, Caroline Aherne and the Gallagher brothers. Think what it would be like without the music of Aitch, Buzzcocks, New Order, The Stone Roses and The Verve. Or if the stories of Lemn Sissay, John Cooper Clarke and Jeanette Winterson were never told.
“Without this unique cultural energy, our region would be much greyer, far less vibrant and indistinguishable from anywhere else. It could well become just another bland city.
“And it’s this spirit of urgency that drives the report before you. For while our region’s creativity has long been the secret ingredient driving Manchester’s success, it’s a formula that’s no longer guaranteed.”
The report went on to say how Manchester has actually become a victim of its own success in the arts. Over 20-years-ago, when Manchester topped Richard Florida’s Boho Index and was crowned the most creative place in the UK, urban theorists predicted that economic growth would follow. This theory became reality as the last decade has seen Manchester consistently named the UK’s fastest growing city-region.
But with that economic boom, the working class are slowly being pushed out of artsy opportunities in place of the ever-increasing middle classes in the region.
One poignant quote, from a participant in the survey, epitomises the problem this Class Ceiling inquiry is trying to shatter. It read: “People who have been to a private school don’t realise that they can speak a language that people who didn’t can’t. It’s the language of easy confidence.
“It’s the language of ‘I’m meant to be in this room, I deserve to be in this room and I have things to say that are worth listening to’. If you grow up where I did, that’s just not how you feel.”
Exposure to the arts within the working classes was seen as the biggest problem. Speakers at the Class Ceiling event highlighted less cash to pay for events, less paid gigs for artists and fewer venues promoting up and coming talent – all barriers for those without the financial backing of family or friends.
Some particularly alarming statistics were highlighted in the report. Less than half of creatives surveyed (44 per cent) said they earned enough to make a living, with many requiring second jobs.
The report went on to detail that 51 pc of participants had experienced bullying, harassment or bias based on their social class; just 18 pc saw their lived experiences widely represented in the art form they practice; and only 22 pc personally knew anyone working in the arts when they were growing up.
With less funding being put into the arts nationally and more venues shutting down due to cash shortages – the future is looking bleak. So the inquiry has pushed forward 21 recommendations that could hopefully work towards a solution to fixing this problem.
Among the recommendations are measures to include class as a protected characteristic; the appointment of a class champion; a drive to increase apprenticeships; measures to ‘decasualise’ labour and a co-ordinating body led by the GMCA to marshal resources; as well as spot gaps and join up best practice.
Although the Equality Act does not recognise class as a protected characteristic, Afzal said that Manchester should look to recognise people from working class backgrounds as having protected characteristics.
Speaking at the event, Mr Afzal said: “Britain and Manchester do not have a talent pool, it has a system that quietly filters out talent. Class, income, geography and access continues to decide who gets the stay in the room and who does not.
“Until we confront that reality, progress will remain cosmetic. For one reason change has stalled is because class is treated as an awkward afterthought, it’s rarely mentioned, rarely published and almost never targeted directly.
“If we’re serious about inclusion, class must be treated as a core issue in arts policy and strategy. What we do not measure, we do not change.”
Despite structural failings in the system that silently ‘filters out’ working class talent, the event shone a light on changemakers working hard to widen participation and make a difference.
Avis Gilmore said she was particularly inspired by institutions like the Co-op stepping up on the back of the report to campaign for more apprenticeships.
She said: “The things I am particularly pleased about are making employment opportunities more accessible. It is absolutely shocking that if you want to get a job right across the cultural field you’ve almost got to pay for the first several years.
“It’s real exploitation. I’ve been really worried when talking to some of the people who are trying to get into the field. They have no security whatsoever, no sick pay, holiday pay and it’s costing them money to go and get experience.
“What if you want a family. I spoke to a couple of women who could only have children because they could rely on their partners having a full time job to support the whole family.
“Working class people are less likely to go into the arts now because gentrification has permeated it, both nationally and in Greater Manchester. Most people say they can only get a job if they know someone.
“It’s not fair and it’s not open.”
Ms Gilmore went on to credit venues and opportunities that are giving a platform to up and coming artists. Some have come through council-funded schemes and others are just passionate independent enterprises who love the arts.
Examples in the Class Ceiling report include Richard Street Studios in Rochdale for start-ups; the Frog and Bucket Comedy club in Manchester; Company Chameleon dance studio in Openshaw; and the live music opportunities at Snug in Atherton as well as many other smaller venues.
The point of the report is to put arts back into the mainstream and be properly funded. The alternative is to continue hoping generous lovers of the arts provide opportunities into the sector for the working class.
