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TOOLS FOR EQUITY, DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION INITIATIVES

August 20th, 2020

As a diverse corridor we wanted to share a useful resource from DENVER’S EQUITY, DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION INITIATIVE.

 

Multiplicity — Brenton Weyi from Denver Arts & Venues on Vimeo.

Inspired by IMAGINE 2020, Denver Arts & Venues (A&V) is excited to announce the agency’s Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Initiative (EDI). A&V is committed to these core values in all our programs, initiatives and processes. As an agency priority, the Equity, Diversity and Inclusioninitiative will continue to evolve with our steadfast dedication to all our residents, as Denver is a city where everyone matters, and everyone matters in the arts.

Equity: The fair treatment, access, opportunity, and advancement for all people, while at the same time identifying and eliminating barriers that have prevented the full participation of some groups. Improving equity involves increasing justice and fairness within the protocols, processes, practices and policies of institutions or systems, as well as in their distribution of resources. Confronting and tackling equity issues requires an understanding of the root causes of disparities within our society. Equity is closely tied to actions and results to address historical disparities.

Diversity: (Who’s at the table?) Recognition and representation of individual or group differences encompassing race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, country of origin, ability, socioeconomic status, age, religion, and other areas of identity.

Inclusion: Embracing differences by creating environments in which any individual or group can feel welcomed, respected, supported, and valued to fully participate. While an inclusive group is by definition diverse, a diverse group isn’t always inclusive. To achieve inclusiveness, recognition of implicit or unconscious bias is necessary.

INITIATIVES

MULTILINGUAL COMMUNICATIONS

Multilingual efforts include:

  • Beginning in 2017 Arts & Venues has translated key communications into Spanish including agency press releases, online applications, and calls for performers and artists.
  • Bilingual educational displays for exhibitions at the McNichols Civic Center Building
  • Bilingual booklet was produced for the exhibition “Inclusion: Diverse Voices of the Modern West,” featuring a group of Colorado artists exploring themes of complex connections of racial identity through artistic expression.
  • Educational companion exhibition Ai Weiwei: Art & Social Change, as well as promotional materials for “Ai Weiwei’s Circle of Animals/Zodiac Heads” were produced in English, Spanish and Mandarin Chinese.

Arts & Venues conducted an assessment of international symbols used on signage at all agency venues. Results will guide an implementation plan to incorporate universal signage at our premier public venues to facilitate navigation and wayfinding. This project also supports the city’s international efforts.

EXHIBITIONS

Art exhibitions at McNichols Civic Center Building and Civic Center Park focus on themes of diversity, equity and inclusiveness. Informational wall panel and associated collateral for all exhibitions is bilingual in Spanish and English. Visit McNicholsBuilding.com for a full list of upcoming, current and past exhibitions.

RESOURCES

RE-TOOL: RACIAL EQUITY IN THE PANEL PROCESS

Valuing racial equity requires examining how our organizational practices can support equitable outcomes by assessing/addressing racial disparities and inequity. The panel process for selecting artists and arts organizations involves a system of often unquestioned activities—assumed to be inherently impartial —that directly impact funding or arts participation outcomes.

To address racial equity in the panel process, we must actively investigate who has access to opportunities and who doesn’t. Put another way, anti-racist grantmakers must design and implement systems and protocols that increase access and decrease barriers for historically under-resourced groups.

More Information

“DENVER TALKS” – JENNIFER HARVEY, PH.D.- RAISING WHITE KIDS: AN ANTI-RACISM CONVERSATION FOR ALL

Denver Arts & Venues, in partnership with the Agency for Human Rights and Community Partnerships and the Office of the Mayor, hosted Denver Talks: an in-depth discussion with author and educator Jennifer Harvey. Harvey, a professor at Drake University, is a writer, educator and public speaker. Her work focuses on the encounter between religion and ethics, race, gender, activism, politics and spirituality in the U.S. Her greatest passions are racial justice and white anti-racism.

More Information

“ACCESSIBILITY: A BRIEF 6,000 WORD INTRODUCTION” BY CLIQUE STUDIOS
“THE ART OF DIVERSITY: HOW POWER IS SHIFTING AT THE TOP OF US MUSEUMS” BY THE GUARDIAN
“ONE TOUGH QUESTION FOR ARTS NONPROFITS: WHY AREN’T BOARDS MORE DIVERSE?” BY ERIC PETERSON
“IMAGINING A MORE DIVERSE, EQUITABLE, AND INCLUSIVE APPROACH TO ARTS AND CULTURE IN DENVER” BY ERIC PETERSON
“CENTERING POWER: THE LEADING EDGE IN HEALTH EQUITY PHILANTHROPY” BY LILI FARHANG
“PHILANTHROPY AND THE DESTRUCTIVE ILLUSION OF ‘LEVELING THE PLAYING FIELD'” BY VU LE
“HOW TO FIX A BROKEN TONGUE” BY NATALIE S. BURKE
“NOT JUST MONEY: EQUITY ISSUES IN CULTURAL PHILANTHROPY” BY HELICON COLLABORATIVE
“BEYOND EQUITY AS A TREND, TOWARD REAL CHANGE” BY MAURINE KNIGHTON
“RACIAL EQUITY IN ARTS PHILANTHROPY: STATEMENT OF PURPOSE AND RECOMMENDATIONS FOR ACTION” BY GRANTMAKERS IN THE ARTS
“DIVERSITY & EQUITY IN NEW YORK CITY’S CULTURAL WORKFORCE” BY NYC CULTURAL AFFAIRS
“STATEMENT ON CULTURAL EQUITY” BY AMERICANS FOR THE ARTS
“INVESTING TO ADVANCE RACIAL EQUITY” BY CORNERSTONE CAPITAL GROUP
“RE-TOOL: RACIAL EQUITY IN THE PANEL PROCESS” BY ELEANOR SAVAGE
“TEARS WE CANNOT STOP: A SERMON TO WHITE AMERICA” BY MICHAEL ERIC DYSON
“ARTS AND CULTURAL PROGRAMMING: A LEISURE PERSPECTIVE” BY GAYLENE CARPENTER AND DOUG BLANDY
“READINGS FOR DIVERSITY AND SOCIAL JUSTICE” BY MAURIANNE ADAMS, WARREN J. BLUMENFELD, HEATHER W. HACKMAN, MADELINE L. PETERS AND XIMENA ZUNIGA
“WHAT IF?: SHORT STORIES TO SPARK DIVERSITY DIALOGUE” BY STEVE LONG-NGUYEN ROBBINS
“ENTERING CULTURAL COMMUNITIES: DIVERSITY AND CHANGE IN THE NONPROFIT ARTS” BY DIANE GRAMS AND BETTY FARRELL
“MOVING DIVERSITY FORWARD: HOW TO GO FROM WELL-MEANING TO WELL-DOING” BY VERNA MYERS
“CITIZEN: AN AMERICAN LYRIC” BY CLAUDIA RANKINE
“JUST MERCY: A STORY OF JUSTICE AND REDEMPTION” BY BRYAN STEVENSON
“A SEAT AT THE TABLE” BY LAURA BOND
“DENVER TALKS” – JENNIFER HARVEY, PH.D.- RAISING WHITE KIDS: AN ANTI-RACISM CONVERSATION FOR ALL
“THE DIVERSITY TRAINING ACTIVITY BOOK: 50 ACTIVITIES FOR PROMOTING COMMUNICATION AND UNDERSTANDING AT WORK” BY JONAMAY LAMBERT AND SELMA MYERS
“WOMEN ON CORPORATE BOARDS IN COLORADO” BY WOMEN’S LEADERSHIP FOUNDATION
“THE PRIVILEGE OF VOICE” BY KAI MONET
“DIVERSITY IN ARTS LEADERSHIP INTERNSHIP” BY ARTS & BUSINESS COUNCIL OF NEW YORK
“PUBLIC ART BOOT CAMP THAT FOCUSES ON RACIAL EQUITY IN PUBLIC ART” BY SEATTLE OFFICE OF ARTS & CULTUREVisit the Equity, Diversity and Inclusion website page here