{"id":2604,"date":"2013-02-23T07:44:56","date_gmt":"2013-02-23T12:44:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/?p=2604"},"modified":"2013-02-23T07:44:56","modified_gmt":"2013-02-23T12:44:56","slug":"white-is-not-transparent","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/2013\/02\/white-is-not-transparent\/","title":{"rendered":"White Is Not Transparent"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-2605\" alt=\"BlankCanvas\" src=\"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/BlankCanvas-182x300.jpg\" width=\"182\" height=\"300\" \/>Earlier this week, <a title=\"Considering Whiteness\" href=\"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/2013\/02\/considering-whiteness\/\" target=\"_blank\">Roberto Bedoya challenged me to unpack &#8220;Whiteness&#8221; as it applies to the arts<\/a> as a foundational exercise for conversations about diversity in the arts. As &#8220;just another liberal white guy,&#8221; I find that more than a bit intimidating. However, I agree with him that the very natural tendency for society (at least majority society) to see (often unconsciously) the status quo as &#8220;how things must be&#8221; is detrimental to social health. And from my perspective, it gets in the way of effective community engagement. An example from another field was the realization in medicine that female anatomy is not simply &#8220;male anatomy but different.&#8221; That transformation of the mental model has had significant (and positive) effects on health care for women.<\/p>\n<p>In trying to get closer to the arts, let&#8217;s work on the color metaphor a bit. White is not transparent. Anyone who has attempted to paste a .jpg image onto a background knows that the .jpg format cannot handle transparent backgrounds. The background is always white unless made some other color. Someone had to explain to me the need to convert the image to a .png (or some other) file in order to accommodate a transparent background. Carrying the metaphor further, a white canvas is not blank. It&#8217;s white. Unless the artist chooses to cover the entire canvas with color, the white will show through.<\/p>\n<p>Similarly, the forms, traditions, training, architecture, even the interior design trappings of European-based arts institutions (and most of the arts industry in the U.S. is European-based)\u2013not to mention the roots of the works themselves\u2013are, well, European. That is not, by any means, inherently bad. Not at all! However, we should not kid ourselves about it. Or more to the point, we need to maintain conscious awareness of the fact. In particular, when we are discussing (and, especially, seeking) diversity, we need to try to understand, as best we can, what this all looks like through other eyes. (To further complicate things, let&#8217;s not forget that the European traditions that form the basis of our nonprofit arts infrastructure were, by and large, the cultural traditions of the elite in those societies.)<\/p>\n<p>To pile on yet another metaphor, as fish in our ponds, we need to attempt to see the water in which we swim. Those outside the tank have a different perspective. Eurocentricity is for many of us an invisible backdrop that is not invisible to those from other backgrounds. It&#8217;s hard, but essential, work to bear that constantly in mind. If we are serious about serving the cultural needs of our communities (a goal deeper than &#8220;simply&#8221; achieving diversity), it is work we must do.<\/p>\n<p>Engage!<\/p>\n<p>Doug<\/p>\n<p>Photo:<a href=\"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc\/2.0\/\"><img decoding=\"async\" title=\"Attribution\" alt=\"Attribution\" src=\"http:\/\/l.yimg.com\/g\/images\/cc_icon_attribution_small.gif\" border=\"0\" \/><img decoding=\"async\" title=\"Noncommercial\" alt=\"Noncommercial\" src=\"http:\/\/l.yimg.com\/g\/images\/cc_icon_noncomm_small.gif\" border=\"0\" \/><\/a> <a title=\"Attribution-NonCommercial License\" href=\"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc\/2.0\/\" target=\"_blank\">Some rights reserved<\/a> by <a id=\"yui_3_7_3_3_1361218138428_312\" href=\"http:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/smada\/\" target=\"_blank\">adamscarroll<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Earlier this week, Roberto Bedoya challenged me to unpack &#8220;Whiteness&#8221; as it applies to the arts as a foundational exercise for conversations about diversity in the arts. As &#8220;just another liberal white guy,&#8221; I find that more than a bit intimidating. However, I agree with him that the very natural tendency for society (at least [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[5],"tags":[12,13,42],"class_list":{"0":"post-2604","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-principles","7":"tag-arts","8":"tag-community-engagement","9":"tag-diversity","10":"entry","11":"has-post-thumbnail"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1G6h9-G0","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":4067,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/2015\/04\/historically-white-theatre\/","url_meta":{"origin":2604,"position":0},"title":"Historically White Theatre","author":"Doug Borwick","date":"April 8, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"The power of a label: historically white theatre and music and dance and sculpture and painting . . . .","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Overview&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Overview","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/category\/overview\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"GreekTheater-Kourion","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/GreekTheater-Kourion.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":3687,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/2014\/07\/the-self-centered-pursuit-of-diversity\/","url_meta":{"origin":2604,"position":1},"title":"The Self-Centered Pursuit of Diversity","author":"Doug Borwick","date":"July 16, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"\"Diverse audiences\" as a goal is self-serving. It\u2019s about making the organization look better or feel better about itself. The goal should be serving\/making life better for diverse communities.\"","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Principles&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Principles","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/category\/principles\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Nashville","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/Nashville-300x199.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":5729,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/2019\/10\/doomed-to-fail\/","url_meta":{"origin":2604,"position":2},"title":"Doomed to Fail","author":"Doug Borwick","date":"October 30, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Diversity, equity, and inclusion are vital to the future of the arts. The commitment to community that community engagement requires is an essential foundation upon which to build efforts in DEI.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Principles&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Principles","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/category\/principles\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Fail.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":3972,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/2015\/01\/notes-from-st-louis\/","url_meta":{"origin":2604,"position":3},"title":"Notes from St. Louis","author":"Doug Borwick","date":"January 14, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Work in St. Louis: addressing myths\/misunderstandings about community engagement and beginning to work with organizations on engagement planning.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Overview&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Overview","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/category\/overview\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"StLouis","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/StLouis-e1418158101316.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":4229,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/2015\/08\/afta-thoughts-2015-staff-diversity\/","url_meta":{"origin":2604,"position":4},"title":"AftA Thoughts 2015: Staff Diversity","author":"Doug Borwick","date":"August 5, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"What if arts organizations were seen as robust contributors to better lives for African-Americans, Hispanics, recent immigrants, the poor, the disenfranchised? Enhance diversity by being valuable.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;The Practice of Engagement&quot;","block_context":{"text":"The Practice of Engagement","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/category\/the-practice-of-engagement\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/DiverseStaff-e1435326777756.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":4047,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/2015\/04\/cant-buy-me-love\/","url_meta":{"origin":2604,"position":5},"title":"Can&#8217;t Buy Me Love","author":"Doug Borwick","date":"April 29, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"If becoming important to new segments of the community is the main path to long-term health, those who provide access to new constituencies are *more* important than those who \"merely\" give money.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Principles&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Principles","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/category\/principles\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"The_Beatles_(with_Jimmy_Nicol)_1964_001","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/The_Beatles_with_Jimmy_Nicol_1964_001-e1427127241863.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2604","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2604"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2604\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2604"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2604"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2604"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}