The South London Gallery is committed to becoming a truly diverse organisation across every aspect of our work, including our programmes, board, audiences and staff, to reflect London’s communities.
Our Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Action Plan embraces ethnicity, gender identity, sexuality, socio-economic background, disability, neurodiversity, health, age and religion to ensure that intersectionality is clearly addressed.
In 2020 we published a statement, followed by our action plan, in which we pledged to become a distinctly more diverse organisation. Progress has been made in some areas, and we continue to review and implement our strategies on an ongoing basis.
Data collected in 2024 shows that 42% of SLG staff identify as Black, Asian or ethnically diverse, 29% as disabled, 37% neurodivergent, 42% LGBTQIA+ and 51% as coming from a working-class background. 50% of our board are Black, Asian or ethnically diverse, 14% identify as neurodivergent, 14% are LGBTQIA+ and 21% come from a working-class background. In 2023-24, surveys showed that 45% of visitors to our exhibitions were Black, Asian or ethnically diverse and 42% said that they live locally to the SLG.
We regularly consult all SLG staff, our Board of Trustees and external advisors who contribute to our action plan, which is richer for their input and guidance. We devote the necessary leadership and staff time to review existing strategies, set goals and achieve them. We proactively seek funding to make this possible and ensure that this work remains at the top of our agenda organisation wide.
The most up-to-date version of our action plan, summarised below, includes details of progress and learning to date, as well as commitments to take forward so that we continue to embed this work into the DNA of the organisation.
Our plan is an evolving one, which we continue to add to and adapt as we learn along the way. We warmly welcome your comments and contributions so please do feel free to contact us at: diversityandinclusion@southlondongallery.org
Last updated March 2025
Board of Trustees, Staff & Culture
Established and ongoing actions:
- SLG staff and board members undertake Equity, Diversity and Inclusion training led by our EDI partner, Spotlight Inclusion.
- A sub-committee of our Board meets quarterly to support our EDI work, monitor progress and to hold the organisation to account.
- We regularly review our recruitment practice. We ensure that there is diverse representation on every interview panel. This includes inviting people outside our organisation to broaden the range of skills and lived experiences. Our application packs make our commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion explicit, and we have reviewed where we advertise our roles.
- We are a member of Stonewall’s Diversity Champions Programme and are working towards the Stonewall Employer Equality Index.
- We expanded our board of trustees from 12 to 16 posts, to ensure greater diversity of voices within our leadership. We recruit board members through open calls, appointing based on skills, expertise and lived experience.
Commitments for 2025:
- At Manager level and above our team is less diverse than our team in general: 16% Black, Asian and ethnically diverse, 21% disabled, 32% neurodivergent and 27% LGBTQIA+. We commit to reporting on this data annually and acknowledge that we have more to do to address this disparity.
- To deliver a paid Internship targeted towards people who are underrepresented in employment in the arts, in partnership with the 10,000 Interns Foundation.
- To explore our understanding of what it means to be an anti-racist organisation with members of our board, staff and our external EDI partner, Spotlight Inclusion. Setting actions by which to hold ourselves accountable.
- To embed a Trans-Inclusion and Transition at Work Policy, developed in consultation with trans staff members and with external input from Stonewall.
- To fundraise to enable the formation of a paid youth advisory forum.
- To develop our programme of staff wellbeing initiatives.
Artistic & Community Programmes
Established and ongoing actions:
- We have increased the representation of artists from Black, Asian and ethnically diverse backgrounds in our exhibitions and events programmes, achieving our aim to be representative of the population of Southwark which is 49% Black, Asian or ethnically diverse.
- Our exhibitions adhere to accessibility standards including hanging artwork and interactives at accessible height, ensuring step-free access, wheelchair accessible routes, providing transcripts, subtitles and accessible seating.
- We have started to research artists who identify as neurodiverse and / or disabled and this research informed the programming of Acts of Resistance, Photography Feminisms and the Art of Protest as well as The Conch.
- We completed a review of gallery interpretation resulting in the creation of a ‘guiding principles’ document aimed at ensuring our gallery texts are accessible to wide audiences.
- We piloted a Community Hires programme to offer SLG meeting spaces for local organisations at Art Block and in the Fire Station, nurturing new relationships with local organisations including BORN::FREE, South London & Maudsley Art Therapy Group, Raven & Rain, Feminist Library Culture Team, Kinship Kitchen, Garden of Afruika and Step Out
- We are embedding a programme of Continuing Professional Development & Learning (CPDL) sessions for teachers into our schools’ work, focusing on anti-racism and inclusion.
Commitments for 2025:
- To launch a Teacher Fellowship Programme in partnership with Tuke SEND School, hosting a teacher at SLG for one academic year. This initiative aims to strengthen engagement with local SEND schools and enhance disability inclusion across the organisation.
- To deliver a new programme for young people at SLG Art Block focused on evidencing the impact of creative learning on wellbeing, using the NHS 5 steps to mental wellbeing as a framework
- To trial using live captioning for events using a digital automated captioning tool
- To continue our collaboration with New Curators, a curatorial training programme for curators from low socio-economic backgrounds.
- To embed our ‘guiding principles’ for accessible gallery interpretation into all our exhibitions work.
Audiences & Visitor Welcome
Established and ongoing actions:
- We have reviewed our digital and printed marketing materials and have developed guidelines to ensure they are accessible. All events and exhibition materials include access information.
- We commissioned an access audit of our website and are implementing recommendations, such as developing content for screen readers, reviewing image sizes and Alt Text and updating map functionality.
- We have made Sensory Maps and Easy Read guides for some exhibitions, as well as delivering British Sign Language tours.
- We conducted an access audit of our buildings. As a result, we have made changes to public areas to improve physical access and maintain an inclusive and welcoming space for all visitors.
- Staff across departments, including those in Front of House roles, have taken part in a wide range of training – eg. autism awareness, trans awareness, disability confidence, Tourette’s Syndrome awareness, introduction to equity, diversity & inclusion, and mental health first aider training – to ensure we provide a welcoming and inclusive experience for all visitors.
- We have developed relationships with new partners and suppliers to help us engage with new and more diverse audiences.
Commitments for 2025:
- To ensure that the SLG website is accessible to as many audiences as possible, adding more information including visual stories and videos of the SLG’s spaces.
- To deliver more tours and events specifically for audiences with access needs, such as delivering audio described tours and ensuring a BSL tour is available for every exhibition.
- To undertake maintenance work in our Orozco Garden to improve physical access, especially for wheelchair users.
- To establish new and authentic partnerships to attract diverse audiences, working with partners whose values align with the SLG’s to ensure that those audiences feel a sense of belonging and representation.
- To research funding opportunities to further improve the physical accessibility of all our buildings.
- To introduce items such as stim toys for neurodivergent visitors and exhibition-related materials which can be handled.
Fundraising
Established and ongoing actions:
- We have reviewed the images and language used in our funding applications and presentations to ensure they are representative of the work we do and our audiences.
- Access information is included in all Development events invitations.
- We have reviewed and updated our Fundraising Policy and implemented a new Due Diligence Checklist which includes any negative association with equity, diversity and inclusion being identified as a red flag.
- Wherever possible we have prioritised applying for multi-year grants when seeking funding for staff posts, to create better job security.
Commitments for 2025:
- To continue to create a more diverse philanthropic community at the SLG, that is more representative of the communities we serve; to share and learn with peer organisations; and support artists and local community groups in their fund-raising efforts.
- To review our fundraising materials, and set guidelines for the images we select, how we write and speak about participants in our programmes and the local area, to ensure these are more representative of the people and communities we work with, and that the language we use is appropriate.
- To prioritise securing funding to support the equity, diversity and inclusion aims of our programmes.
- To expand the SLG’s development committee, to represent different voices from across the philanthropic community, which in turn will open up new fundraising opportunities.
The SLG Shop
Established and ongoing actions:
- We have a long-standing commitment to representing a diverse range of artists, photographers and authors in our product range, and this is at the forefront of our buying strategies
- Our sections in the shop on gender, sexuality, race, class and disability engage thoughtfully in current debates, and we always aim to foreground underrepresented voices
- We host a range of events where those organising and reading are ethnically diverse, neurodiverse, disabled and/or identify as LGBTQIA+
- We host the PageMasters Zine fair, that promotes the work of many trans, disabled and Black, Asian and ethnically diverse and neurodiverse authors, as well as those from different socio-economic backgrounds who self-publish their titles independently, using sustainable printing practices.
- We work with several local designers and makers for the range of gifts available in the shop, including those who are Black, Asian or ethnically diverse, disabled, neurodiverse, come from a range of socio-economic backgrounds or identify as LGBTQIA+
- We balance sourcing independent stock alongside providing a range of items with lower RRPs. We are aware that we are a local shop for many people, and want to ensure our prices remain accessible and do not alienate our visitors
Commitments for 2025 include:
- To expand our online shop to foreground a selection of books from Black, Asian and ethnically diverse and neurodiverse authors, as well as those from different socio-economic backgrounds.
- To evaluate our recent shift towards working with small suppliers, with a goal of at least 50% of the makers we work with coming from Black, Asian and ethnically diverse backgrounds.
- Deliver a series of readings in the bookshop that gives a platform to ethnically diverse writers, those from disadvantaged socio-economic backgrounds, or writers that are neurodiverse.
- To evaluate the shop’s contribution to a circular economy; how it makes sustainable contributions to challenging discrimination in the world of publishing, design and craft.
What we mean by Equity, Diversity and Inclusion at the SLG
At the SLG, we use the word diversity to refer to the wide range of human characteristics, seen and unseen, which we are born with or have acquired. This may include our gender identity, sexuality, race or ethnicity, socio-economic background, disability, neurodiversity, health, age and religion.
Inclusion means that we foster varied perspectives and experiences, encouraging open conversations and active listening practices. We believe everybody is entitled to feel welcome, comfortable and safe at the SLG, confident to express their authentic selves.
Equality means each individual or group of people is given the same resources or opportunities. By using the word equity instead of equality, we recognise that each person has different circumstances, meaning that they may need different tools or support so that they can access and enjoy the same opportunities as others.
Our imperative is to create a culture that enables us to challenge structures and practices, to ensure that equity, diversity and inclusion are at the forefront of our organisation. We want to be fully inclusive and to proactively counter discrimination of all kinds. All of our staff and board members receive training and support to ensure we can achieve this.
Equity, Diversity and Inclusion forums at the SLG:
Equalities Advisory Committee
The Equalities Advisory Committee comprises four SLG Board Members (Joy Gregory, Serge Ramin, Myriam Semere and Cleo Soanes) and is attended by the Director, Deputy Director and two other SLG staff representatives. The Committee meets every 12 weeks to review inclusion and diversity practices and policies. The four board members also provide a confidential space for staff to report any incidences of discrimination they have experienced or witnessed at work.
The Committee was formed to ensure that the SLG is better able to uphold Equity, Diversity and Inclusion policy and respond effectively to breaches of policy. The Committee aims to embed a zero-tolerance approach and to ensure fair investigation wherever necessary, to hold the SLG and/or individuals within the organisation to account.
Equity, Diversity and Inclusion staff meetings
Equity, Diversity and Inclusion staff meetings are held every other month. They are open to all SLG staff and are always attended by representatives from the Senior Leadership team and staff across the SLG. Specific issues relating to Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion are discussed, in terms of best practice and policy creation across all aspects of the SLG’s activities. External speakers are invited to contribute to this work and are paid for their contributions.
Policy formed in Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Meetings is held to account by the Equalities Advisory Committee.
