9-01 2007, 9:17 JB

“Have a wander around any major British art institution and play ‘spot the black face’. There’s just one rule. The gallery assistants – the security staff – don’t count. [...] it seems that getting British black people to check out art is an uphill struggle.”

Met een forse ris reacties.

“How about football where 75% of the players seem to be black? Where are the black hooligans?”

“Blacks on average come from working class backgrounds, so I think if you can get beyond the colour you’ll find that whites from the same socio-economic background will have similar visiting figures at the National.”

“Come on. How many people who go into your gallery – whether they be white, black or of asian origin – are going to “see themselves” in a French trapeze artist firing cannons out of her mouth? Or “relate to” an 18th century nouveaux riche dandy? Anybody who says that they will not go to the National Gallery because “they” are not depicted therein is being both monumentally self-centred and incredibly pathetic.”

“There is no point ruining the artistic niche of the National Gallery by trying to make it more inclusive to fit some political agenda. Just carry on like you are now, unless of course there are funding issues to consider.”

arts.guardian.co.uk/features/story/0,,1985373,00.html