Bright Richards remains combative in times of Corona: 'Why don't we use art to bring about inclusion?'

Now, with the first wave of the Corona crisis behind him, he is fully preparing for new projects. Black Lives Matter, the international movement that grew strongly after the murder of George Floyd by a policeman in America, has his full attention. At the demonstration, last May, in Utrecht, Bright's inspired speech already stood out. His charisma is great. He can get people moving. The question is whether, in setting up that movement, he is now bothered by the measures surrounding Corona.

Solidarity

'Of course it is more difficult with the shows I play. Some theatres let me know that I can now only guarantee a third of the number of seats. For a small club like New Dutch Connections, it's a huge challenge. Especially because we target people who don't normally go to the theatre.'

'I see the visitors of my performances not as an 'audience' but as a 'community'. In my view, people want to go to the theatre because their story is told there. Because they can meet the right people there. Because they can draw strength from there. Because they can find a solution to their problem there.'

Giving strength to the community is what it is all about, according to the man who fled Liberia in 1993, a country where he had already built a reputation in the media. 'Making and playing theatre should serve a purpose. I find it very exciting to address a social issue with the theatre I develop with the various communities. So the fact that the performance 'As I left My Father's House' has been played 400 times is not because of me, but because of people who resonate with it, who see that it is important.'

Find a place

Bright Richards' commitment is great: "I worked as a trainer and consultant in the corporate world for a very long time. I am aware that you develop projects because you want to solve something. I personally struggle when, as an artist, you don't see that you also have a social problem to address.
Examples abound, it turns out: 'I am now working on a new project, which I want to do in the neighbourhoods of Utrecht. It is called 'Future Citizens' and deals with the problem of unemployment among refugees. Many of them have lost their jobs because of the corona. I want to make sure they don't give up, and hope there are employers willing to invest in them. I am therefore looking for newcomers who have found their place in society, whom I will put in touch with people who are still looking for a place.'

Dreaded

For Richards, his own background has been essential to his current views. 'I come from Liberia, and there art has a very different role than here. As an artist there, you are one of the most feared people in society. You are just as feared as journalists. The artist in me was born in Africa, because there you are a voice of the people.'

'I co-founded New Dutch Connections because many non-Western artists trained here are not given space to tell their own story or make art in their own way. Because the way the art system is set up does not encourage inclusion. In performance, you see more and more diversity, but not in management, the board, the policy-making positions. There it remains monocultural.'
He has experienced this at first hand: 'I once sat on an advisory committee in Nijmegen and was baffled by the system of subsidies at the time. The government wants change to come from the established institutions. That makes sense: after all, they invest money in the cultural infrastructure, such as the theatres. But the population does not feel that this infrastructure belongs to them too. So I saw that many people come to this country, and get an arts education, but then don't move on. Many leave the cultural sector and abandon their passion for art because the system excludes them.

Think tank

I sit in a think tank here in Utrecht that is now working on the change. They are all Utrechters who want to tackle the movement in a Utrecht way. I find that so cool to see. They follow the national movement but want to give it a Utrecht colour.' That doesn't always happen automatically: 'I notice that people in the management of cultural institutions are very comfortable. They don't feel the need.'

'I also find that a bit sad about the Netherlands. We are a rich country, we are a beautiful country, so why don't we use art to bring about inclusion? The police are more inclusive than the arts sector: 6 per cent of the police are diverse. In the arts sector, among theatre directors and programmers? If it's 0.2 per cent, it's a lot. That is very painful. I hope we do something about that. You get a beautiful society from that.'

Thirty per cent

That, according to Richards, is not even all that difficult to pull off: 'If you want to change, you have to have a plan and a strategy. We are an intelligent country. The whole world comes here to learn from us. We can do it if we want to. In Utrecht, 30 per cent have a different cultural background. If you have three people in the management team, surely you should be able to find one with a different background? There are plenty of them at universities and colleges.'

'We should stop trying to maintain a certain exclusivity under the guise of 'artistic quality', which we establish from a monocultural perspective. Visit art schools, universities and colleges: there is plenty of diversity and inclusion, only the flow is not taking place. We as a sector can do something about that. If we think diversity is important.'

Good to know

Also to be read on the special culture and corona page of the municipality of Utrecht.