We spoke with Virgilia Facey, founder of The Colour Balance, an initiative working towards equality, diversity and BIPOC inclusion within the photographic industry today. We spoke with her about the realities of the creative industry, approaching issues from a grassroots level and her advice to emerging photographers.
Tell us a little bit about yourself and your journey to where you are today.
I completed my BA at London College of Fashion, graduating in Fashion Promotion with a major in Journalism. When I completed my degree during the last recession, it was and continues to be, a really tough time for publishing and editorial, and so very quickly, and quite by luck, I fell into agenting and began representing photographers. It was something I fell in love with. From there, I’ve spent the last 12 years representing photographers and producing their shoots and working collaboratively with creative teams. Over the past five years, I’ve gone on to work in senior management roles, being an executive producer and overseeing photo shoots. These past two years I’ve also been studying an MBA at the Imperial College, London. So, it’s been a pretty full on couple of years running The Colour Balance, doing my full-time job and business school.
What first led you to create the initiative The Colour Balance?
I started The Colour Balance three years ago. Originally, it began as an initiative to increase representation from a grassroots level. It came from my own experience of seeing how little representation there was among photographers, especially Black and POC.
[I remember] going to a talk on bias, in which they encouraged people to go away and think about what they weren’t seeing, which is really hard to do, because it’s like looking at a blind spot. I went away and I thought about all the photographers I had met in the industry. Throughout my work, I had only personally met one Black photographer, and when I thought about that, it blew my mind. This isn’t to say that there weren’t any Black photographers at that time, it was just that specifically in commercial photography and advertising, I wasn’t meeting them.
I began to think about the ways that I could contribute and make a difference, such as booking assistants for photographers, so that they could find the contacts that people were otherwise being provided with through nepotism or the ability of being able to work for free. As someone who had not been involved in diversity prior, the last three years have been really informative and educational for me. The Colour Balance serves [as a way] to foster diversity in the next generation of photographic talent via both consultancy and grass roots initiatives.
Image courtesty of The Colour Balance: A recent photography assistant workshop held at JJ Studios, London. This workshop covered the day to day roles of an assistant and the fundamentals of writing a CV, call sheets and invoicing.
Both in front of and behind the camera, representation and inclusion is a pertinent and immediate issue. What do you believe organisations and companies should be considering, questioning and evaluating when they’re creating and working in the industry?
I think a lot has been discussed around diversity this year, and also around the fact that it’s not enough to just have sympathy for a situation - if you don’t agree with something, you actively have to work to change that. Particularly with BLM, the discussion goes that ‘It is not enough to be non-racist, we must be anti-racist.’ It’s so powerfully true. It’s the same with gender bias as well, we all have to actively work to dismantle these systems that oppress marginalised groups.
There is a particularly interesting paper called Panic! Social Class, Taste and Inequalities in the Creative Industry, which is about the lack of diversity in the arts. It explained how those who are working within the arts believe that they’re there based on a meritocracy. It discusses the simple fact that it’s just not true. People often find that really hard to understand because they think it takes away from their hard work and their achievements. I think once you understand that always holding the mentality of picking someone because they are the ‘best person for the job’, you avoid addressing all the reasons why marginalised groups have been systematically held back and may not attain the results of their peers.
From an industry perspective, it’s important to encourage and fight for others when hiring for roles and to not work solely on that meritocracy. If you’re only looking for people who have that specific work in their portfolio, then that can be a Catch-22 situation. BIPOC talent are often asked to contribute to music photography or categories that are seen as ‘urban’. Then, when it comes down to a lifestyle or automotive campaign, they’ll be excluded on the basis that these specific examples are not present in their portfolio. It should be about hiring for aptitude and not always necessarily just experience. I think if you’re really looking to break down these oppressive systems, it’s about finding new ways of working.
“If you’re looking to break down these oppressive systems, it’s about finding new ways of working.”
This is something that I’ve really considered with The Colour Balance. The idea was originally just to get young people opportunities and experiences that they’d otherwise be excluded from on the basis of nepotism, which is so prolific in the industry. During the course of my time running The Colour Balance, I’ve realised that I’m only going to seek paid opportunities for others because I don’t want to exclude the many people who can’t afford to work for free. That’s something I wasn’t educated enough on when I started and it’s really changed my perspective. When you understand the realities of the industry, its really eye opening.
I had a conversation with a designer recently who is white, CIS, male and he provided an interesting perspective He grew up in London. He’s not from an affluent background, he works in design and he went to school that was very representative of London, a very multicultural space. As he later worked in the industry and climbed his way up, [his surroundings] just got whiter and whiter, until he was surrounded by only white people. He said that he’d had loads of friends in school that were really creative and shared the same interests, but then suddenly they’d all been filtered out.
The support systems to encourage diversity are poor, or perhaps only operate on an entry level basis. We need to be asking how we are supporting people to rise to management positions and beyond.
“ We need to be asking how we are supporting people to rise to management positions and beyond.”
Within the creative industry, we all have an individual role to play in including perspectives and creating an active communal space. In a professional landscape that is so competitive and includes hierarchical dynamics, how would you recommend we start to restructure this from a grassroots level?
It’s very situational but to speak broadly, the main thing is to educate yourself, to read, to listen and to really understand the issues. Education has helped me to articulate my thoughts more accurately. Sometimes I would see something that wasn’t right and feel uncomfortable but I wouldn’t always have the language to call it out in that moment. I think education is a massive tool for everybody to be able to understand, to speak and to listen. Obviously, books cost but there are also resources available for free. I’d also really encourage others to book share. If I’ve read a really brilliant book, I’ll try and pass it along. I have a best friend who has an amazing bookshelf on all things race, class and intersectionality and I’ve been an avid borrower of her books. I think that’s the first thing that everyone can do to contribute.
What would you advise to emerging BIPOC photographers trying to break into the industry?
The key factor is your network. The strong ties in your immediate network [are important] but it’s actually the people who are on the periphery of your work or social circles that can probably provide the most opportunities. It’s what’s called in business as the weak ties, so the friends of friends (of friends of friends). You should really try to get to know these people and what they’re about. When I’ve set up really interesting collaborations between talent, so much of what I find has come from listening to what people have going on, what their skills are and what they’re passionate about and then [connecting] them later down the line. Don’t ever be afraid to make those reach outs, because if 1 person out of 10 comes back from those cold contacts, that’s a good day!
I’m personally a natural introvert and I’ve spent a long time breaking outside of that, to the point that no one believes me when I say that I’m an introvert anymore. I think particularly for BIPOC people, it’s sometimes the network that helps them rather than those that go into [the industry] through nepotism or generational wealth. I think that’s so important, to just create your own community, ask others, look at where you can give and make it reciprocal.
“Create your own community, ask others and look at where you can give.”
How do you think the pandemic has impacted how we build networks outside of our physical space? What advice would you give to those building their online presence and trying to make connections online?
I’m privileged because I grew up in London. That’s a real advantage for people who grow up in cities where they have so much more access. I think it’s definitely something the pandemic will change with more remote collaboration and virtual meetings. When you’re starting out, you don’t necessarily need to have a website but you can use your Instagram like a portfolio and share what you’re about. It’s one of the main things that myself and commissioners look at, sometimes even before the website.
My advice would be to really consider your online presence. I always believe in people showing their authentic selves. If you’re using Instagram as a work tool, there’s also an element of thinking about what you omit as well as what you include. Sometimes its helpful for younger people to set up a creative Instagram over a personal one. However, there’s no one way and it’s not up to anyone to tell people to censor themselves. These are just considerations, but [ultimately] there are no rules.
“I always believe in people showing their authentic selves.”
Have there been any experiences in your professional practice that have inspired you to do things differently? What would you say to those experiencing challenges in the industry?
I personally come at everything with the view that every experience brings you where you need to be. I think in the creative industry it can be really challenging because some people just get overnight success and others work so hard on so many professional projects but they can never get the breaks that some people do. I will always say that, as a creative, if you always follow your passion, that can never really steer you wrong. At the end of the day, you’ll be creating something you really believe in, and that’s what people will be drawn to.
As a facilitator in the creative industry, not drawing comparisons is something that I am super conscious of. It’s not always a perfect science and it’s never a linear process. Don’t be disheartened by looking at other people. Be aware of the competitive landscape you’re in, but also focus on what it is that you do and enjoy.