65B - ARTS AND CULTURE MASTER PLAN

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Please feel free to adopt or adapt this language as you would like, or to just use it for some amount of inspiration. All that we ask Is that you email clord®artsusa.org to tell us your story if and when you successfully create the Statement that is right for your organization! To support a full creative life for all, Your Organization commits to championing policies and practices of cultural equity that empower a just, inclusive, equitable nation. DEFINITION OF CULTURAL EQUITY Cultural equity embodies the values, policies, and practices that ensure that all people— including but not limited to those who have been historically underrepresented based on race/ethnicity, age, ability, sexual orientation, gender, socioeconomic status, geography, citizenship status, or religion—are represented in the development of arts policy; the support of artists; the nurturing of accessible, thriving venues for expression; and the fair distribution of programmatic, financial, and informational resources. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS & AFFIRMATIONS • In the United States, there are systems of power that grant privilege and access unequally such that inequity and injustice result, and that must be continuously addressed and changed. • Cultural equity is critical to the long-term viability of the arts sector. • We must all hold ourselves accountable, because acknowledging and challenging our inequities and working in partnership is how we will make change happen. • Everyone deserves equal access to a full, vibrant creative life, which is essential to a healthy and democratic society. • The prominent presence of artists challenges inequities and encourages alternatives. MODELING THROUGH ACTION To provide informed, authentic leadership for cultural equity, we strive to... • Pursue cultural competency throughout our organization through substantive learning and formal, transparent policies. • Acknowledge and dismantle any inequities within our policies, systems, programs, and services, and report organization progress. • Commit time and resources to expand more diverse leadership within our board, staff, and advisory bodies. FUELING FIELD PROGRESS To pursue needed systemic change related to equity, we strive to... • Encourage substantive learning to build cultural competency and to proliferate pro -equity policies and practices by all of our constituencies and audiences. 65B-104