Challenging Racism in the Arts: Case Studies of Controversy and Conflict

Christine Hughes is a policy analyst at the Ontario Native Affairs
Secretariat.

This thoughtful and provocative analysis uses a case-study approach to
document and discuss conflicts arising over “the issue of race and
representation in Canadian cultural production.” The six studies,
which focus on events in Toronto between 1985 and 1995, are: an
unsuccessful attempt to establish a black/dance music FM radio station;
an exhibition at the Royal Ontario Museum of African artifacts,
photographs, and drawings collected by Canadian missionaries and
soldiers; the Miss Saigon and Show Boat musical productions; the
exhibition of the Barnes Collection at the Art Gallery of Ontario; and a
conference of First Nations writers and writers of color. The book
documents how racist discourse is manifested through cultural
productions and cultural institutions.

While the cases can be read on their own, the authors skilfully
integrate the themes raised with a theoretical framework that is
outlined in two introductory and two concluding chapters. They indicate
that the book’s theoretical orientation is influenced by trends and
developments in the field of cultural studies, an interdisciplinary
blend of the social sciences that is closely associated with the
philosophical discourse of postmodernism. The book contains a helpful
glossary of terms used in cultural studies and discourse analysis. Each
chapter is well referenced.

In setting out the case studies, the authors challenge the views and
assumptions of literary art critics, curators, museum trustees,
journalists, bureaucrats, politicians, and theatrical producers and
directors. They also highlight the role of mainstream media in
disseminating information. While presenting the positions of the
“mainstream,” they also share the opinions of individuals involved
in producing nonmainstream cultural works and their efforts to bring
them to a wider Canadian audience.

The authors identify students, artists, writers, performers,
filmmakers, cultural activists, people working in cultural institutions,
and anyone who enjoys the products of cultural production as potential
readers of their book.