Webinar: After COVID-19: Diversity in Arts Administration, Practice, and Policy
In recent decades, arts organizations and managers have focused on diversity, equity, and inclusion of people of color and ethnicity in arts programming, staffing, and education. Before COVID-19, momentum was clearly developing. For the first time in American history, a museum dedicated to informing American history and culture about contributions of former slaves and contemporary leaders of color was constructed on the national mall as a part of the Smithsonian Museums System. In addition, an African American male was later appointed head of that system. Numerous fellowships in the arts were re-introduced and created to support diversity at American for the Arts, Association of Arts Administration Educators, Artspace Inc, etc.
Historically, following a crisis, diversity initiatives and implementation fall in priority as cultural arts organizations rebuild and reconstruct staff and programming. Moreover, history is being redefined globally as systemic racisms via Black Lives Matters advocacy following deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Aubery and others. A similar event calls into question engrained stereotypes about Black males as an African American birdwatcher Chris Cooper encounters hysterical racism.
Dr. Keith D. Lee led a discussion on diversity in arts administration education, training, and practices and what it could mean to the field while it also adapts to funding changes, to the transformation of faculty and staff responsibilities in university and arts organizations, and to student requirements, enrollment, and curricula development.
Dr. Lee was joined by Ms Cheryl Slay Carr, Associate Professor and Associate Dean of the Curb College of Entertainment & Music Business at Belmont University; Ms Ruby Lopez Harper, Senior Director for Local Arts Advancement at American for the Arts; and Mr. Anthony Meyers, Founding Director of Leading Changemakers.