V&A East's exhibition highlights systemic erasure and reclamation of Black British music in UK cultural history
Original framing: “Story of Black British music writ large in first exhibition at V&A East” — The Guardian - World
The original framing omits the role of colonialism in shaping cultural hierarchies, the contributions of Black British women and queer artists, and the impact of systemic racism on access to resources and recognition. It also lacks a critical engagement with the ways in which Black music has been commodified and rebranded by the mainstream music industry.
High structural omission detected in mainstream coverage.
The narrative is produced by the V&A East, a major cultural institution, and is likely intended to appeal to a broad public while aligning with current institutional commitments to diversity and inclusion. However, the framing may serve to obscure the deeper structural issues of cultural appropriation and exclusion that Black artists have historically faced. The exhibition risks becoming a symbolic gesture without addressing the ongoing power imbalances in the arts sector.
While the exhibition is a significant step in reclaiming Black British music, it could have included comparative perspectives from other diasporic communities, such as Afro-Caribbean or Afro-Latinx musical traditions, to highlight shared experiences of cultural resistance and innovation.
The V&A East’s exhibition 'The Music is Black' is a critical step in addressing the systemic erasure of Black British music from mainstream cultural narratives.