{"id":3061,"date":"2013-09-04T07:03:24","date_gmt":"2013-09-04T11:03:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/?p=3061"},"modified":"2013-09-04T07:03:24","modified_gmt":"2013-09-04T11:03:24","slug":"in-the-vineyards-of-diversity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/2013\/09\/in-the-vineyards-of-diversity\/","title":{"rendered":"In the Vineyards of Diversity"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Vineyard\"In July, Barry Hessenius posted an Interview with Aaron Dworkin<\/a>, on Barry’s Blog. Mr. Dworkin is founder and President of the Sphinx Organization<\/a>, “the leading national arts organization that focuses on youth development and diversity in classical music.” I was aware of Sphinx’s work in identifying and supporting young people of color who aspire to careers in the classical music world. The desire to make our orchestras (in particular) less uniformly white is a worthy one, but I’ve been concerned that if that’s the limit of the work toward diversity, there would be no significant impact on the relationship between communities of color and orchestras. Seeing people “like you” may be helpful, but it will not overcome the barrier that repertoire from foreign cultures represent. The quest for true diversity does not rest solely in the demographics of artists and staff. It demands consideration of the work presented and, of course, considerable work in relationship building\u2013work that must be grounded in art that speaks to the relationship.<\/p>\n

So, I was delighted to read Mr. Dworkin address this issue. Here is a passage from the latter part of the interview.<\/p>\n

BARRY<\/b>: \u00a0Why do you think audiences for the arts have been declining, or do you think that the audiences are actually growing, but that the way audiences now access the art has dramatically changed?<\/em><\/p>\n

AARON<\/b>: \u00a0Part of the answer to this question is offered above: audiences are participants. \u00a0If what is presented on stage is not reflective of myself and the experience that I consider \u201cmine\u201d, if my contact with the arts is non-existent to minimal, I am not likely to participate. \u00a0Less than 1% of repertoire performed by American orchestras is by composers of color: I think that statistic alone may shed light on the reasons behind dwindling participation.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The most significant point here is the question of whether any portion of the arts experience is reflective of the personal experience of the public we seek. That is the critical issue. Do we desire diversity enough to consider change in programming?<\/strong> Not wholesale rejection of the canon and certainly not any form of pandering, but change nonetheless. To be successful in diversifying we need to want it badly enough to do what it takes to achieve it.<\/p>\n

I will hasten to add that work created by people of color does not automatically lead to interest on the part of communities of color. No individual represents an entire demographic. And, simply because they are part of it does not mean that their experience or interests are those of the rest. If, however, the work created addresses issues or the experience of those communities, then that will<\/em> over time, foster positive relationships; and it is likelier (though by no means certain) that it will<\/em> reflect them if the creator has shared those experiences.<\/p>\n

Engage!<\/p>\n

Doug<\/p>\n

Photo:\"Attribution\"\"Share<\/a> Some rights reserved<\/a> by and3k<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In July, Barry Hessenius posted an Interview with Aaron Dworkin, on Barry’s Blog. Mr. Dworkin is founder and President of the Sphinx Organization, “the leading national arts organization that focuses on youth development and diversity in classical music.” I was aware of Sphinx’s work in identifying and supporting young people of color who aspire to […]<\/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":"In the Vineyards of Diversity: What are we willing to do to achieve diversity? http:\/\/wp.me\/p1G6h9-Nn","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":[12,13,42,43],"class_list":{"0":"post-3061","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":"tag-programming","11":"entry","12":"has-post-thumbnail"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1G6h9-Nn","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":4826,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/2017\/02\/universalityparticularity\/","url_meta":{"origin":3061,"position":0},"title":"Universality\/Particularity","author":"Doug Borwick","date":"February 8, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"No art is truly \"universal.\" Understanding that is a first step in understanding equity.","rel":"","context":"In "Principles"","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\/2017\/01\/MilkyWay-e1484852105528.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":5868,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/2020\/03\/no-mystery\/","url_meta":{"origin":3061,"position":1},"title":"No Mystery!","author":"Doug Borwick","date":"March 4, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"If we are serious about building relationships with new communities, the onus for making the first move and for making our experiences truly welcoming is on us and us alone.","rel":"","context":"In "Principles"","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\/2020\/02\/HolmesBakerStreetUnderground.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":3075,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/2013\/09\/diversity-definitions\/","url_meta":{"origin":3061,"position":2},"title":"Diversity Definitions","author":"Doug Borwick","date":"September 10, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"The Arts and Science Council in Charlotte has been involved in some serious work to promote diversity, access, and inclusion. I attended a session at last June's Americans for the Arts conference in Pittsburgh in which Robert Bush, now Interim Director of the Council, described their efforts. In the twenty\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Principles"","block_context":{"text":"Principles","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/category\/principles\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"http:\/\/www.artsandscience.org\/templates\/ascdesign20\/images\/asc-logo.jpg","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsandscience.org\/templates\/ascdesign20\/images\/asc-logo.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":3061,"position":3},"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. 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