A.R.T./New York's Commitment to Accountability and Innovation

Our Internal Work

In July 2020, the We Are A.R.T./New York Coalition published a letter detailing racial injustices taking place at our organization. The subsequent leadership transition has been one critical piece of a much larger, longer, and more holistic process, which even in its early stages has seen us take steps forward, and also steps back. The Coalition, a group of current and former staff, has already provided a significant amount of labor and continues to model brave leadership as we begin identifying and dismantling the systemically racist structures embedded in our organization. Through the formation of Ethics and Accountability Committees at the Staff and Board levels, A.R.T./New York is currently examining our internal practices through the lens of our newly updated Values so that we may begin the process of innovating and rebuilding our organization in a more equitable way. This process will be multi-faceted and never-ending, but it will include, among other things a full audit of A.R.T./New York’s current internal and external practices, including:
  • Our hiring practices
  • Internal work culture
  • Staffing structures
  • Member facing program offerings. 

Since July 27, 2020 we have been supported by a team of facilitators led by Alexandra Meda, who have been vital partners in the process thus far. We have pledged to our stakeholders, including our membership, to work together through a transparent and collaborative process, and we will continue to provide our community with detailed updates on our progress as it continues to evolve.  



 

Support for Our Members

Amid field-wide calls for racial justice, we have received requests from A.R.T./New York members to support your efforts to foster anti-racism practices within your communities. As you know, we are in the midst of our own process of dismantling oppressive systems and rebuilding our organization in a more equitable way. Aware and understanding of your very real and pressing needs, it has also been vital for us to make some initial internal progress before turning our attention to providing external support, and we will continue to provide updates about our ongoing evolution. Though we still have a long road ahead of us, we are excited to announce programming to help you begin addressing deeply ingrained systems of white supremacy and racism in ways that are specific to the nonprofit theatrical community. As a predominately white institution (PWI), A.R.T./New York is deeply implicated in the failures of our community that led to the writing of the We Are A.R.T./New York letter, as well as broader calls for justice, such as the demands set forth by We See You White American Theatre. As such, we are partnering with BIPOC instructors, consultants, and facilitators in order to offer support that centers their voices as opposed to those of white leadership at A.R.T./New York or any other PWI. Over time, we expect these programs to evolve in ways that allow for continual entry and reentry and we look forward to the journey ahead!

CLICK TO LEARN MORE ABOUT MEMBER FACING PROGRAMS

We recognize that there could be a tendency to let external programming speak for internal health, especially when the internal health has been poor.  We are actively tending to our internal health and external responsiveness - and will continue working to link the two. As we often say, "individually we don't know everything, but together we know a lot." In 2021 and beyond we are looking forward to learning alongside and making progress with our members as we build a future that includes mutual accountability.

You can expect more routine accountability updates as we continue the work, and find a steady pace - constantly moving forward and striving for equity & excellence.

 
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