Anti-Racism Virtual Town Hall

As an organization, Calgary Arts Development has committed ourselves to bettering our systems regarding equity, diversity, inclusion, and accessibility (EDIA).

As a follow up to our virtual town hall on June 17, 2020, we scheduled a second gathering to continue the conversation about the deep-seated racism that exists within our communities and systems, and how we can further develop anti-racist policies and practices governing our work. The purpose of the gathering was to use the unanswered questions from June 17 as an initial starting point for deeper conversations, possible actions, and decisions as we deal with current inequities in the sector and work with a broader community toward positive action.

The town hall was hosted on Zoom and was interpreted in American Sign Language (ASL) with a live transcription available.

Questions were submitted to the Calgary Arts Development team to think about ahead of time.

Here are the questions we committed to adding as a starting point for our conversation.

  • Calgary Arts Development’s internal workings. What changes to Calgary Arts Development’s structures of leadership and decision-making will enable it to (a) exemplify EDIA values and principles, and b) effectively do EDIA work (e.g. board composition, grants programs, assessments and decision-making)?
  • Accountability. What are the measures and mechanisms that will show us and the community that things are moving ahead in our EDIA work? How do we make ourselves mutually accountable (e.g. AROC recommendations)?
  • Building and working with a broader community EDIA coalition. How can this capacity be built in the community? How can this have a part in furthering the EDIA work?
  • Dealing with the current inequities in the sector. How can resources and opportunities be made more available to equity-seeking artists, artistic practice and organizations? How will an EDIA framework engage more established institutions in the sector?

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