Quotes from Munira Mirza

Being falsely accused of racism is, at best, unpleasant and at worst, can destroy a career.

If black artists can win major commissions and international acclaim, why do we assume that to be black is always to be marginal, or in need of special support? We have to recognize how diversity initiatives can make black artists feel ghettoized and, as some cultural commentators have argued, bear 'the burden of representation.'

Boris isn't known for his fashion credentials, but he knows what it represents - in London it's about creativity. That's why we invest in London Fashion Week each season.

We're very proud of our cultural life. Culture is to London what the sun is to Spain. It's a major driver for our tourism.

To challenge the dominance of identity politics, we need to champion an alternative universalist approach. This wouldn't mean bland similarity, with everybody talking and looking the same. Instead, it would help us challenge the imposition of formal, ethnic categories and allow us to develop richer differences based on character and interests.

Public art is a unique type of art. It's very different to gallery art because it is something that we pass by every day and it inevitably creates a lot of discussion in a way that gallery art does not.

By appeasing the anti-racism lobby and affirming its culture of grievance, public institutions and business leaders are not making Britain a fairer place. In fact they are harming the very people they aspire to help.

Of course, when people work together, there can be tension and disagreement. But policing informal behavior makes it hard for people to speak freely for fear they will say the wrong thing. Even self-aware individuals can doubt their judgement and start to rely on the diversity trainer to judge if something is offensive.

No doubt many people working in race relations sincerely want to make things better. But by constantly drawing attention to race and policing ordinary behavior, they risk making things worse.

There is a sense of civic connection to the city when you light up iconic buildings or sites.

I realized very quickly that the main thing that the left was not in favor of was free speech - that there was an intolerance about different ideas and opinions.

Too many developers still treat cultural strategies as a fig leaf to get planning permission, rather than make a thoughtful, genuine commitment to the cultural life of their areas.

It would, of course, be wrong to say that the arts have no social value. They have tremendous power and can often, indirectly, make our world a better place to live in.

Perhaps inevitably, media stories focus on differences, which exacerbates tensions; yet Islamic radicalization is, in part, an acute expression of broader trends that affect us all.

In capitalist terms, art is a global marketplace and artistic labour is too.

London's top colleges attract the best young talent from around the world; they're truly a national asset.

Sectarian political festivals are not the way Londoners want their money to be spent. Most of us, I suspect, just want to be trusted to get on with other people and not be instructed by activists about the dangers of racism.

At the start of the 21st century, Britain is caught in a confusing riptide of anxiety. Of course racism still exists, but things have improved to a point where many ethnic minority Britons do not experience it as a regular feature in their lives.

By importing into the U.K. the divisive politics of anti-racism from America, with its demented campus dramas and neuroses about 'safe spaces', 'micro-aggressions' and 'cultural appropriation,' they make it almost impossible for people of goodwill of all ethnicities to rub along together.

Oxford is a very special place. You really sensed the value of a good education there.

But everyone, including ethnic minorities, should be worried about how anti-racism is becoming weaponized across the political spectrum - how a lot of people in politics think it's a good idea to exaggerate the problem of racism.

Paradoxically, by insisting on engaging with Muslims as a separate group, the authorities make many of them feel even more excluded.

Islamist groups have gained influence at local and national level by playing the politics of identity and demanding for Muslims the 'right to be different.'

The government should stop emphasizing difference and engage with Muslims as citizens, not through their religious identity.