Our Place & Location

The Black-E’s location is at the heart of a diverse community. The Black-E may sit in Liverpool – but our work impacts the North West, UK (including Ireland) and we have been a global influencer for nearly 50 years.

Even before the COVID19 pandemic, we were at the heart of an economically deprived area within a place that is beset by health inequalities.   This included reduced life expectancy and higher rates of mental health issues and people living with long-term health conditions.

We are a proud people, and Liverpool and the region are more than statistics on deprivation.  However it is important to recognise that our community and our relevance is made more important because, for many years Liverpool has been one of the most deprived of 317 local authority areas in England.

We know from the Government’s* own data that people of Asian heritage, followed by Black people are least likely to report taking part in the arts.

In 2018 to 2019, 77.4% (the most recent available figures) of people aged 16 and over took part in the arts (like going to an exhibition or performing in a play) at least once in the past year this figure has generally been stable since 2012 to 2013.

The highest percentage of people (at 88.7%), who reported taking part in the arts, were of mixed ethnicity.  This may be linked to age – which means that coming out of COVID19 – we cannot afford to be complacent.  As participation in the arts is impacted by competing financial priorities and demands that increase with age e.g. caring for family, relatives etc

The Black-E’s mission, in delivering activity in support of the levelling up agenda is to attract back to Liverpool the generations of  Black and ethnic minority artists and cultural practitioners who left Liverpool.  Liverpool’s cultural economy and the future growth of our region is dependent on creating space for the return of artists and practitioners.  The Black-E is already doing this, through robust recruitment and creating a national/global focus.