London Inc. May/June 2021 - 17

something that's not always the
case in galleries or by granting
bodies, often eager to play up
the diversity angle or only make
overtures to diverse artists at
speciﬁc times.
When it comes to commercial
support for her work, " I don't
want it to only be during Black
History Month or when there's a
protest, " says Yaro.
" It needs to fall on galleries, for
example, " she continues. " They have to
step up, and not just doing it because they
want to tick the box of diversity. Nobody wants to be
the token diverse person in any situation, even if we understand that sometimes that's the one way you can open doors. "
There's a raft of ways black artists could be supported,
says Yaro. One way would be to boost arts funding across the
board, which would also beneﬁt established artists in other
countries if the Canadian government made it a priority to
support them ﬁnan-cially if they chose to relocate here, or to
recognize international art credentials more widely.

It's these areas, Yaro says,
which may not seem at first
glance directly connected to
the business of making art,
that are effectively making it
harder for new artists to make
a living.
Shows like The Future is
Now reﬂect the other main way,
though, that artists of colour can
promote themselves: not having to
worry about getting their foot in the
door, but by creating their own door.
" If you can't get into the in-group, what can
you do to get yourself out there? You end up ﬁnding
artists looking for all types of events. "
Yaro definitely feels change is possible and believes
everyone will be better off for it if the ranks of working artists in the city were diversiﬁed. Asked how people can help
level the playing ﬁeld, her answer is simple.
" Buy more art from black people! " she says. " Open your
horizons, experience any-thing other than what you already
know. Variety is the spice of life. " KIERAN DELAMONT

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London Inc. May/June 2021

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