Public art should be “decolonised” or risk being removed, according to Welsh Government guidance.
As reported by the Telegraph, the devolved Labour administration has finalised official guidelines which instructs public bodies, including Wales’s National Museum in Cardiff, on how to ensure statues, plaques and paintings project the “right historic narrative”. The report continues:
Guidance states that art in public spaces must be “decolonised” and should “celebrate the achievements of our diverse society”.
The term “decolonisation” refers to a process of ensuring history and other disciplines move away from a white and Western focus.
Local authorities must now ensure that commemorations in public view will not “insult or hurt”, but instead project “present values”.
Art that remains “highly contentious” could be taken down or otherwise “concealed” from public view, the advice states.
The guidelines, signed off by Dawn Bowden, the Deputy Minister for Arts, were proposed in response to Black Lives Matter protests as part of a strategy to ensure Wales is “an anti-racist nation” by 2030.
They state that councils are expected to promote a “decolonised account of the past, one that recognises both historical injustices and the positive impact of ethnic minority communities”.
The term “decolonisation” in academic and arts circles often refers to actively critiquing the British Empire and those involved with it, while elevating stories about non-white historical figures. It has become a major feature of modern museum practice.
The guidance has been criticised by Andrew RT Davies, the leader of the Welsh Conservatives, who said: “Labour’s new guidance for statues and public commemorations is an affront to our history and puts extreme ideology before the facts.
“This guidance, which places heavy emphasis on ‘decolonising’ Welsh history, is wrongheaded and divisive.”
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