UK fashion school apologizes over 'anti-Chinese' Instagram post

This student artwork, shared earlier by an Instagram account associated with Central Saint Martins, is accused of racism. /Photo via Instagram

A renowned British college for aspiring fashion designers apologized on Friday to some of its students and alumni over an Instagram post, which was accused of being racist and offensive to the Chinese people.

The official Instagram account of the Fashion and Textiles foundation course at the Central Saint Martins (CSM) college of University of Arts London (UAL) posted a series of students artworks as part of a design project to its Instagram stories.

One of the images, posted on Thursday, featured a banner that looks like the flag of China during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1912), a Qing-style braid and the words "Made in China £0 worth." The banner was being held by an unidentified individual in front of clothing stores, apparently in a protest against fast fashion. The words "Made in China" were written in Chinese characters.

Screenshot of the post shared by an Instagram account associated with the university.

The post drew ire from Chinese students at the university and alumni in the fashion industry, who noticed that the account shared the controversial image with a string of "raised hands" emojis, signaling the school's approval for its message.

"We agree that it was not appropriate to publish images on our Instagram account without fully identifying the cultural sensitivities embedded in them and the debates surrounding the works' production and exhibition. We offer an unreserved apology and will learn the lessons from this," read the statement posted on the university's main Instagram account.

The statement added that the UAL is "actively engaged in understanding and tackling our own institutional biases and cultural prejudices."

The issue came to the school's attention after one student messaged the @fashion_textiles_csm account, which posted the controversial image, to complain about perceived "disgusting" promotion of "racism and extremely biased political views."

"For an art and design institute to endorse an action that attempts to negate not just a nation's, but a culture's value is even more vile," the message continued.

Screenshot of the correspondence on Instagram provided by students.

The account took down the post in question and apologized for the offence it caused. But it insisted that the creators of the piece weren't being derogatory and that the banner itself might have been "taken out of context."

The initial response was viewed as lacking sincerity by those following the incident. It is unclear who is managing the program's Instagram account. 

The UK has seen a steady increase of Chinese students in the country's prestigious art schools. Young talents in fashion and design are hailing from China more than ever before, amid the nation's drive to develop creative industries.

According to the UAL's website, the number of Chinese students increased 100 percent between 2009 and 2014.

Screenshot of an earlier statement posted by the university's Instagram account. /Photo via Instagram

Around 500 Chinese students and alumni, including Chinese designer Angel Chen, signed an open letter to UAL's chancellor Grayson Perry, demanding an apology over what they believed was an endorsement of anti-Chinese racism.

The students pointed out that the imagery evoked a racist caricature and the message was slanderous of the work of Chinese creative workers.

"The suspected Qing Dynasty flag and braid motifs… are symbols from the imagery of Fu Manchu, a familiar stereotype embodying the 'yellow peril,'" the letter explained. "It is a pity that such symbols are still used in contemporary Western 'art' projects to vilify China."

In an email response, Rachel Dickson, Dean of Academic Programs, who is responsible for the foundation program, acknowledged the students' concerns and promised to issue a new statement and apology on Friday

Source: Updated21:41, 15-Nov-2019, CGTN

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