About Shades of Noir

In 2009 Shades of Noir (SoN) was created by Aisha Richards.  SoN is an independent program that supports:

Additionally, it has created physical safe spaces that offer opportunities to have critical and interdisciplinary discussions that confront some of the items that we see and do that can sometimes be challenging. This is a program that creates opportunities for marginalised groups and their need for safe spaces to articulate self-determination and liberate the struggles from oppressive structures both in education and society.

In the first instance, Richards designed developed and supported the implementation of SoN across UAL.  Under Richards direction of Shades of Noir the University of the Arts London (UAL) hosted in its first phase (2011/2012):

Over the year Shades of Noir continues to contribute to the universities work around race equality.  SoN has over the past 3 years begun working with other Higher Education institutions such as Ravensbourne and Glasgow School of Art.  Additionally, it has been featured in Higher Education Academy publications ‘Embedding Equality and Diversity in the Creative Curriculum: An Art and Design Practioner’s Guide'[1], Richards, Finnigan 2015, and ‘Attainment and Retention in the Discipline: Art and Design'[2], Finnigan, Richards 2016

Richards believes the key to Shades of Noirs success is the collaborative process to its structure.

[1] EEDC art and design online

[2] Retention and attainment in art and design.

 

Our Framework

 

Streams of Work.

Shades of Noir’s ‘Streams of Work’ are broad-reaching and multifaceted, supporting the purposeful transformation of people, policy and process.

As a community, we centre the voices and lived experiences of students and staff of colour within the focus of social justice. We offer accessible knowledge and visible testimonies that we hope will further inform the evolutions of cultures and practices across the sector (and beyond).

For over a decade, the programme has reached huge success thanks to our intersectional team of award-winning staff and students. This allows us to shape our proactive interventions to be purposeful, relevant and effective. As creatives, we take an inherently intersectional and holistic approach, aligning everything that we deliver within the framework of policy, people and process.

Staff Network supportStaff trainingEvent collaborations
Safe Space CritsSU trainingConference activities
Student complaint and grievance supportStudent trainingThe Institution for Decolonial Arts board membership
Staff complaint and grievance supportInclusive teaching and learning contributionsCourse teams advice and support
Teaching Within programmeHistory of arts education-based social justice projectCurriculum support and briefs
SU collaborationsUK Black female professors projectExternal consultation and training
PublicationsHR adviceSenior management advice

 

Phase Reports