Equity Dashboard

South Arts serves the Southeast arts and cultural community with sensitivity to the influence of power and privilege, and to align it with anti-oppression and inclusion principles. We look to remove structural inequities, systemic injustice, exclusionary conditions and implicit bias in traditional funding models, and within our programs and services. Models that create high barriers to access disproportionately exclude arts organizations that are minority led, and alienates art makers who identify as Black, Indigenous, and other People of Color (BIPOC). We must keep evaluating our work with respect to service impact.

South Arts recognizes equity, diversity, inclusion, and accessibility as fundamental to its mission of advancing Southern vitality through the arts. The South Arts Equity Committee was established in 2019 with the intent of prioritizing these values within all aspects of South Arts as well as establishing systems of transparency and accountability. Since its founding, the Equity Committee has mapped out a comprehensive equity plan for the organization, led educational opportunities for staff and board, and developed a public resource library for the region and beyond.

The South Arts Equity Dashboard will serve as a public overview of South Arts’ equity journey. The Dashboard will host the South Arts equity statements and values, a summary of past and present efforts regarding equity, tracking of public equity goals, and a public resource library for artists and organizations seeking to embrace equity values in their work.

The following organizational goals were established by South Arts staff:

• Embody equity values in South Arts programs, communications, operations, and board and staff culture
• Support and engage a diverse representation of artists, organizations, and program participants
• Provide resources and guidance for the arts field to embrace equity values

Equity Mission Statement

South Arts envisions a future in which everyone has equitable access to the arts regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, age, ability, geography, religion, and thinking/communication styles. South Arts commits to centering those who have been systemically excluded from participating equally in the arts as well as acting deliberately to challenge oppressive and exploitative systems in the South and the arts field. Only by creating a more equitable arts landscape can we meet South Arts’ mission of advancing Southern vitality through the arts.

Statement on Racial Equity

As a regional cultural institution of the South, contending with the region’s history of white supremacy is a foundational necessity. By remaining silent on injustice, institutions perpetuate violence against non-white communities and assist in the erasure of their voices. Combatting racism requires adopting an anti-racism mindset with the understanding that racism is not always intentional, conscious, or explicit. The responsibility lies with those who hold privilege and power to become allies and accomplices in the rectification of injustices and inequities.

Many of society’s most pervasive inequities are forged around the social construct of race  and systemic racism. Other forms of discrimination are often compounded by racism. Maintaining an initial focus on racial equity will help develop the tools needed to fight other forms of discrimination. South Arts is committed to addressing the ongoing legacies of colonialism, oppression, and systemic racism in our region and the arts.

Community

Togetherness cultivates deeper collaboration. Establishing trust and mutual respect ensures everyone feels a sense of belonging. Diversity, inclusion, accessibility, and equity are essential values for fostering a collective mindfulness that celebrates everyone.

Diversity

Learning to value our similarities and differences is key to adapting in an ever-changing world. The South Arts region is home to many unique cultures each deserving appreciation distinctly and as part of the South’s interwoven cultural tapestry. Engaging a spectrum of perspectives makes for more creative and thoughtful problem solving.

Inclusion

Everyone belongs and has something essential to contribute at every level of decision making. Involving the voices of those systematically kept out of the conversation is critical to replacing systems of exclusion with meaningful collaboration.

Accessibility

Everyone has a right to participate in the arts regardless of physical, emotional, or cognitive ability. Sufficient accommodations ensure no one has a diminished experience because of a disability.

Equity

Everyone deserves fairness, respect and access. Because of differing socio-cultural perspectives and unequal access to resources, deploying a one-size-fits-all approach for engagement is not sufficient. Tailored strategies for purposeful engagement must center individuals and communities as experts in their own needs, experiences, and desires. Equity requires acknowledging power disparities and working to dismantle them.

Integrity

Embodying these values requires deliberate leadership, continuous education, and a persistent willingness to be teachable. Transparency and accountability to ourselves, our partners, and our constituents are vital to ensuring South Arts’ mission includes everyone.