A statue of the Duke of Wellington in Brecon
Public art should be “decolonised” or risk being removed, according to Welsh Government guidance.
The devolved Labour administration has finalised official guidelines which instructs public bodies, including Wales’s National Museum in Cardiff, on how to ensure statues, plaques and paintings project the “right historic narrative”. Guidance states that art in public spaces must be “decolonised” and should “celebrate the achievements of our diverse society”. The term “decolonisation” refers to a process of ensuring history and other disciplines move away from a white and Western focus.
Local authorities must now ensure that commemorations in public view will not “insult or hurt”, but instead project “present values”. Art that remains “highly contentious” could be taken down or otherwise “concealed” from public view, the advice states. The guidelines, signed off by Dawn Bowden, the Deputy Minister for Arts, were proposed in response to Black Lives Matter protests as part of a strategy to ensure Wales is “an anti-racist nation” by 2030. They state that councils are expected to promote a “decolonised account of the past, one that recognises both historical injustices and the positive impact of ethnic minority communities”.
National figures audited by Welsh Government
Sir Thomas Picton painting in a 'boxed-up' state in Cardiff/Lord Nelson statue, Anglesey/Henry Morton Stanley statue, Denbigh
Anti-racist Wales Action Plan
In 2022, the Labour government followed up with an Anti-racist Wales Action Plan which insisted such statues had to be dealt with in order to set the “right historic narrative”. The finalised official guidance on how to achieve this states that authorities could “conceal” artworks, or “take down highly contentious monuments and place them in store or in museums, or relocate to less sensitive location”. However, guidance states that it does not seek to push the “censoring or erasure of the historical record”.
It is suggested that contentious artworks might be addressed through artistic interventions, or through the addition of new information panels which would provide a “decolonised account of the past”. Decision-making on what to do with contentious artworks should be “inclusive” and ensure “that the voices of Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic people and those with other protected characteristics… are amplified and celebrated”. Such decision-making will help to “promote social cohesion and create a fair, open and anti-racist Wales”, in line with government strategy. New artworks and statues may be used to increase the diversity of public commemorations, and “dispel the perception that the achievements that society considers noteworthy are those of powerful, older, able-bodied white men”.
The scope of the overall guidance extends to “existing and future public commemorations”, including statues, paintings, plaques, and street and pub names.
Ms Bowden wrote in an introduction to the guide that it would help public bodies “deepen understanding of the past and its legacies, but also to celebrate the diversity of our communities”.
‘Guidelines an affront to our history’
However, the guidance has been criticised by Andrew RT Davies, the leader of the Welsh Conservatives, who said: “Labour’s new guidance for statues and public commemorations is an affront to our history and puts extreme ideology before the facts. “This guidance, which places heavy emphasis on ‘decolonising’ Welsh history, is wrongheaded and divisive.”
A Welsh Government spokesman said: “The guidance on public commemoration in Wales is neither promoting the removal nor retention of contentious historic memorials. Rather, the guidance is to help local authorities, town and community councils, and other public bodies reach well-informed decisions about existing and future public commemorations. “Public bodies should be clear about what they want to achieve from public commemoration. They should set objectives that define its role in line with the goals of the Anti-racist Wales Action Plan to promote authenticity and balance, and a clear and decolonised understanding of the world. This does not mean censoring or erasure of the historical record, but it does mean that historical injustice is acknowledged, reputations are open to debate and narratives that devalue human life do not go unchallenged.”
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