Dear members of the South Arts community,
As our communities process the repeated impacts of COVID-19 and the deaths of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor and countless other Black Americans, South Arts stands in solidarity with those in grief, mourning and frustration. These killings must stop, and the systemic issues that perpetuate these atrocities must be addressed.
Our mission at South Arts is Advancing Southern vitality through the arts. Integral to that is an understanding that much of our collective Southern identity is rooted in Black communities and culture, and that racial inequity faced by those same communities has shaped many of the artists we call our own.
At South Arts, we actively and consciously address racial equity in our programming and processes. We affirm the power of art and creative expression to challenge, inspire and document important movements. We pledge to continually learn, evolve, and improve to strengthen the Arts and our region.
Black lives matter.