Catalyst

I designed, managed, edited and wrote for the website for Catalyst Magazine. Run by the Commission for Racial Equality, the magazine was semi-independent and commissioned external writers and illustrators to look critically at issues of race, identity and community.

When the CRE became a part of the new Equality and Human Rights Commission the magazine ceased to exist, though a snapshot of the website is still online.

Catalyst was at the forefront of new thinking on race relations and racial equality, both in Britain and abroad. We chose the name to reflect the magazine’s role: to kick-start debates, discussions, new ideas and arguments – about where we are now, and where we might be going in the future.

The magazine dealt with issues of identity, citizenship, culture and community, and how these concepts are continually evolving and re-shaping the society we live in.

The Commission for Racial Equality’s contribution to a global debate, it was not a house magazine to promote CRE viewpoints or activities. It encouraged frank and open discussion and engaged with views across the political spectrum, and covered a broad range of topics, from policy and the law, to economics, politics, sport, science, culture and the arts.

The website provided an online version of each issue as well as additional content, supplementing and responding to material in the print version of the magazine, plus interactive features to allow a wider audience to join the debate. In turn the material and comments from the website fed back into the print version of Catalyst.

Among the pieces I wrote were a review of the Tate’s photography retrospective, How We Are; a look at truth commissions around the world and an assessment of the claims of modern slavery. I went to the highly charged launch of a short Russian film, interviewed people about Cornishness and reviewed exhibitions in London and Poland.