A pair of young writers have sensationally quit their lucrative jobs as art critics in protest over the ‘whiteness’ of their own team.
Five hires, who are all white, were selected in May to be part of a respected team of reviewers at The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.
The initiative, which was funded by the Copyright Agency and the Judith Neilson Institute, was aimed at enhancing arts and review coverage in Australia.
But four of the critics have since slammed the newspapers for a ‘lack of diversity in the selection, which resulted in an all-white group’.
Two of the writers, Bec Kavanagh and Jack Callil, have since resigned from the programme because it ‘fails to reflect Australia’s diverse literary community’.
Bec Kavanagh (pictured) resigned from the programme because it ‘fails to reflect Australia’s diverse literary community’
Jack Callil (pictured) sensationally quit the gig in protest because it ‘fails to reflect Australia’s diverse literary community’
The pair released a joint statement which read: ‘This selection fails to reflect Australia’s diverse literary community, and is a missed opportunity to support non-white voices in arts criticism in Australia.
‘We want our work to be part of a landscape that recognises the nuances in understanding and experience needed to engage with works of art on multiple levels; we all miss out if there’s only one voice in the room.’
They went on to say how grateful they were to be given the opportunity.
A third writer, Tiarney Miekus has not quit, but she has spoken out about the whiteness of the group, calling it ‘completely appalling and shameful’.
She said she will give up some of her salary to allow the company to hire a person of colour.
‘From the outset I have found this completely appalling and shameful. It shows the media’s bias when it comes to supporting the voices and opinions of people of colour and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander writers in arts publishing,’ she wrote on twitter.
Cassie Tongue (pictured) has proposed she reduce her hours and share the job with a person of colour
Tiarney Miekus (pictured) has not quit, but she has spoken out about the whiteness of the group, calling it ‘completely appalling and shameful’
‘The selection was not ethical or representative of arts writing and art practices in this country today.
‘Since the announcement, I’ve had many exchanges with multiple editors. Having essentially halved the number of pieces I’ll be publishing, I’ve been advocating the extra funding set aside for my role — visual arts in Melbourne — be used to publish arts pieces by black, indigenous, people of colour writers.’
A fourth writer, Cassie Tongue, has proposed she reduce her hours and share the job with a person of colour.
The fifth writer, Chloe Wolifson, has not commented on the issue.
Two of the writers, Bec Kavanagh and Jack Callil, have since resigned from the programme because it ‘fails to reflect Australia’s diverse literary community’
Tiarney Miekus has not quit, but she has spoken out about the whiteness of the group, calling it ‘completely appalling and shameful’
Nine, who owns both mastheads, released a statement announcing they would be reopening the application to include more diverse voice.
‘We accept the reasons why Jack Callil and Bec Kavanagh have decided to resign,’ a statement said.
‘We are reopening applications for the two freelance book critic roles, considering the previous applicants as well as seeking to ensure the roles are posted more widely to encourage a greater diversity of applicants.
‘The successful applicants will need to have expertise as literary critics and strong writing skills.’
The move comes after thousands of Aboriginal rights activists attended rallies in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Adelaide amid the height of the Black Lives Matter movement.
Black rights protests sprung up around the world in response to American demonstrations following the death of black security guard George Floyd in police custody in Minneapolis.
Black Lives Matter protesters rally in Melbourne’s CBD on June 6 (pictured) as the movement spread across the world
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