Working to invest financial, programmatic, and informational resources equitably.
Mass Cultural Council identified five areas of focus and related goals for its FY18-19 Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion Plan, based on our own organizational structures and relationships with our constituents. This Plan was subsequently extended in FY21. (Image: Bianca Leigh and MJ Rodriguez in Trans Scripts, Part I – The Women. Photo courtesy of American Repertory Theater. Image by GretjenHelene.com.)
In October 2017, we engaged with the Disruptive Equity Education Project (DEEP) on a year-long series of workshops to educate the staff and governing Council on the personal challenges of engaging in equity work, encourage the development of a mission and vision for equity, and build our capacity to develop actionable plans to sustain professional development learning.
From November 2017-May 2018, we contracted with Third Eye Cultural Collaborative to provide an organizational assessment framework to help us assess our current ability to meet the goals of our new strategic plan, specifically the goal of advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion. (Image: Logo for the Disruptive Equity Education Project)
Inaugural Universal Participation Awards celebration at WGBH. Mass Cultural Council presents $10,000 to Open Door Theater to honor their accessibility work. Kerry Thompson from the Disability Rights Fund delivers the keynote. (Image: Alexander Abdulah singing with a guitar at the 2018 UP Award ceremony. Photo: Mercure Photography.)
In Year 2 of the Universal Participation Initiative, Charles G. Baldwin is hired to lead this work. Agency hosts Accessible Performance Pipeline roundtable discussions with artists with disabilities on needs, gaps, and challenges in Boston, Lawrence, Worcester, North Adams, and Great Barrington. (Image: Elbert Joseph in rehearsal for The Taste of Sunrise, part two of Suzan Zeder’s Ware Trilogy produced by Emerson Stage, Wheelock Family Theatre, and Central Square Theater in 2015. Photo: Christopher Robinson.)
