Sky Arts and Netflix execs are among a string of industry figures backing a charity offering more than £70,000 in grants to BAME creatives.
Phil Edgar-Jones, Sky Arts director and Sky head of entertainment, and Sophie Taitt, Netflix’s global production strategy chief, have signed as ambassadors to Grand Plan, which will offer three £1,000 grants per month over an initial two years.
The charity is open to applications from across the creative pursuits, including film and TV, music, writing, photography, theatre and photography. The first round is open until 30 June.
Other figures taking an ambassadorial role include Alan Yentob, former BBC chair and presenter of BBC1 arts strand Imagine; comedian Simon Amstell; Richard Curtis and Emma Freud; and National Theatre artistic director Nicholas Hytner.
The charity was founded by musicians Marina Diamandis and Tom Rosenthal with former BBC producer Siddharth Khajuria as they observed industry responses to last summer’s Black Lives Matter protests.
In a statement, they state: “In our different professional and creative lives, we’ve either observed or experienced the sustained and structural barriers which contribute to an under-representation of artists and creative people of colour in British arts and culture.”
They added that “whole careers can pivot” on investments that give creatives a “leg up” and outlined their intention to create a community of support beyond the initial investments.
Diamandis said: “If we want to see real change, we need to see and hear more work from non-white artists. We all digest art every day and it has the power to influence our perspectives, therefore we need to change the culture within creative industries to make sure everyone has equal opportunities, regardless of the colour of their skin.”
The involvement of the Sky and Netflix execs follows last week’s announcement that the companies are launching a bursary for six writers from under-represented backgrounds.
