50 years on British art ignores: how much has changed for black and Asian artists?

A conference to examine the legacy of Naseem Khan's landmark 1976 report on the exclusion of ethnic minority artists has been published 50 years since the cultural historian Naseem Khan's first challenge to the British art establishment, and the question of who and what counts as British continues to be debated. The Arts Britain Ignores – Khan's ground-breaking 1976 report, commissioned by organizations including the then Arts Council of Great Britain, a vision of a multi-national culture

It is 50 years since the publication of cultural historian Naseem Khan's challenge to the British art establishment, and the question of who and what counts as English is still debated.

The Arts Britain Ignores – Khan's ground-breaking 1976 report, commissioned by organizations including the Arts Council of Great Britain, presented a vision of a pluralistic national culture in which the creativity of Britons of diverse ethnic backgrounds – from avant-garde music to black painters and Ukrainian dance – should be supported and respected.

Today, when polls, debates and cultural and political moments present different notions of British identity – whether it's the diversity of England's football team, or how political figures define their identity – Khan's work remains relevant.

On Wednesday, Dawn Airey, the new head of Arts Council England's funding and cultural development agency, will deliver the opening keynote address at a conference honoring Khan's legacy - The Arts Britain Ignores: 50 Years On - at the Serendipity Institute for Black Arts and Heritage in Leicester.

Today, the works of British Black and Asian visual artists such as Frank Bowling, Sonia Boyce and Anish Kapoor are critically acclaimed and in demand. But in 1976, Khan documented how the folk arts and cultural practices that flourished in Britain's ethnic minority communities were largely ignored by investors and critics.

This week's conference, which brings together artists, organisations, experts and policy makers, will examine how much progress has been made in 50 years and comes at a time when community and independent cultural spaces are facing financial pressures, redevelopment and gentrification.

Attendees at Wednesday's conference included Khan's daughter Amelia Torode, theater director Jatinder Verma, presenter Brenda Amanos and colleague and University of Nottingham Chancellor Lola Young.

The conference also marks the launch of a new book, The Arts Britain Ignores at 50, published by the Serendipity Institute, featuring new articles and research.

Pawlet Brookes, chief executive and artistic director of Serendipity, said: "We had a glamorous Britain, we had 'no black in the Union Jack'. We had all that narrative. But the reality is that Britain is diverse - whether that diversity is layered with color or layered in other ways. In Europe - though we still have a long way to go."

Describing Khan's work as "sensible," Brooks said it was time to "look at how far we've come and what we need to do for the next 50 years."

"We did a timeline review [for the new book] and what it shows is that there has been funding for diverse cultural organizations, but what hasn't been there is sustainability and growth," he added.

"We also need recognition for dance and theater. Progress has been made in the visual arts."

In his speech, Airey is expected to say, "The trip Khan set for us is one of the most important things our department does ... [it] will be at the center of my work."

He praises Khan for telling bodies such as the Arts Council that "you have built a whole cultural institution - its funding structures, its buildings, its critics, its law - around a definition of British art that has left parts of it out".

Airey is also expected to say, "It's a tough time to be an artist in this country, no matter what your background is — but it's even tougher for a lot of people in this room."

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