W hen, where and how are we going to really see the fruits of Britain’s much-trumpeted cultural diversity? The past decade has seen huge boosts in recognition for British artists of colour. And Lord knows, just about everyone, including our continental neighbours, seems to think we do this kind of thing better than anyone. Yet the time when we can all participate without guilt or self-consciousness in the artistic hybridisation and fusion that are the natural outcomes of immigration still feels a way off.
A new exhibition at The Bomb Factory Art Foundation in London ’s Marylebone Road, however, argues that far from being a longed-for future ideal, this hybridisation has been going on at a grassroots level in Britain for a good 40 years. Generations of young British artists, musicians and writers have grown up regarding the free sampling, mixing and plain enjoyment of each other’s cultures as just what naturally happens. “When you’re a creative kid, you seek out a scene among your peers,” says artist Zak Ové, whose work features in the show.
“We’re talking about spaces that are homegrown and informal: clubs, record shops, street corners, fashion boutiques and, of course, people’s bedrooms.” If that all sounds credible in Ové’s native Camden Town , Pallas Citroen, the show’s curator, who grew up non-white in rural Sussex, argues that this culturally promiscuous experimentation is far from an exclusively urban thing. “I lived in a small, very Englis.
