{"id":587,"date":"2011-10-22T08:46:03","date_gmt":"2011-10-22T12:46:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/?p=587"},"modified":"2011-10-22T08:49:17","modified_gmt":"2011-10-22T12:49:17","slug":"equity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/2011\/10\/equity\/","title":{"rendered":"Equity"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"\"\"It’s as if the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy knew I was writing about funding inequity in Quality and Community-2<\/a>.\u00a0 Seriously, there seems to be something in the air. The NCRP report released recently, Fusing Art, Culture, and Social Change<\/a> (note that this link may change), points out that:<\/p>\n

Each year, foundations award about $2.3 billion to the arts, but the distribution of these funds does not reflect the country’s evolving cultural landscape and changing demographics. Current arts grantmaking disregards large segments of cultural practice, and consequently, large segments of our society.\u00a0<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

[Here’s a link to the AP story on the report: APNewsBreak: Arts funding doesn’t show diversity<\/a>]<\/p>\n

This has been big news at the Grantmakers in the Arts<\/a> recent conference as well as in the press and throughout the blogosphere. Imagine, some segments (genres and cultures) of the arts world get far more financial support than others! The fact that most people’s reaction has been, “Well, duh!” (official pronouncements have been, obviously, more articulate than that) says something about the pervasiveness and long-standing nature of the situation. It’s no surprise. The not-for-profit arts infrastructure has, by and large, taken over for Europe’s patronage system. And patrons were, wait for it, people with money.<\/p>\n

Now even though I am a self-confessed hemophiliac bleeding heart liberal (aren’t there like two of us left?), my post here is not focused on the social justice aspects of this report (if for no other reason than they are so patently obvious). My real concern has to do with the handwriting on the wall. <\/em><\/p>\n

\n

Mene, Mene, Tekel u-Pharsin<\/em><\/strong>
\nThe Babylonian King Belshazzar’s warning from God,
\n“You are weighed in the balance and found wanting.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Granted, this is, perhaps, a bit of hyperbole for the current point, but it’s one of the things that has motivated me for years to try to get the arts community to take community engagement seriously. The demographics of this country are changing profoundly. The social, political, and economic structures that supported the establishment of the not-for-profit arts industry will not hold forever. At some point, without real<\/em> effort being expended to be meaningful to our communities (entire <\/em>communities), we could even move from a current position of irrelevance in the minds of many citizens to outright antipathy. Howard Zinn, in A People\u2019s History of the United States<\/em>, documents a nineteenth-century riot in New York City in which a mob attacked the Astor Place Opera House, shouting, \u201cBurn the damn den of aristocracy.\u201d We don’t want any segment of our industry to find itself in such a place.<\/p>\n

I’m not saying we are there or even close to there. (Although the current spread of the Occupy Wall Street movement gives a hint that things are bubbling below the surface.) And even if we never again get to a place of real<\/em> class warfare, I am saying that the danger of being viewed as out of touch with the community is a profound, existential danger for the arts. Many are moving to address this already. But I honestly believe the pace of change needs to quicken considerably.<\/p>\n

[Let me also acknowledge that this topic is getting a lot of play among bloggers. In particular, Nina Simon recently published a great post that parallels this one as well as both of my Quality and Community posts: Equity in Arts Funding: We’re Not There Yet. We’re Not Even Close.<\/a> Once again, it seems like Museum 2.0<\/a> and I have many parallel interests.]<\/p>\n

————————–<\/p>\n

OK, let’s lighten the mood (considerably). My example for today is not from the arts world. I recently attended an event sponsored by my CSA (community-supported agriculture) provider, The Produce Box<\/a>. (Yes, I’ve got another post coming before too long about food. There’s just too much out there.) They are a statewide operation that delivers produce to you, without the co-op requirement.\u00a0 All the benefits of CSA’s with none of the work. Win-win! The event in question was a get-to-know-you reception (heavy hors d’oeuvres\u2013<\/em>for which we paid\u2013made from their produce)<\/em> at a local restaurant\/brewery. They got a chance to tell us about their work, get feedback about their produce (no more eggplant for a while!), and learn a bit about who we, their customers, were. (And, oh yes, we got a pretty cool beer tasting and brewery tour as part of the bargain.) I’ve got to tell you, I am at this moment a seriously<\/em> devoted customer\/fan. Incredibly simple (it was organized via an email invitation and RSVP)\u2013low cost, high impact. This seems eminently replicable, not in details but in essence. Give it a try.<\/p>\n

Engage!<\/p>\n

Doug<\/p>\n

Scales Image: \"Attribution\"\"Noncommercial\"\"No<\/a> Some rights reserved<\/a> by vaXzine<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It’s as if the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy knew I was writing about funding inequity in Quality and Community-2.\u00a0 Seriously, there seems to be something in the air. The NCRP report released recently, Fusing Art, Culture, and Social Change (note that this link may change), points out that: Each year, foundations award about $2.3 […]<\/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":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-587","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-principles","7":"entry"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/s1G6h9-equity","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":6402,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/2021\/07\/equity-and-engagement\/","url_meta":{"origin":587,"position":0},"title":"Equity and Engagement","author":"Doug Borwick","date":"July 14, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Good practices in community engagement and DEI work are closely related. Let's work together on them simultaneously.","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\/2021\/07\/Equity2.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":6357,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/2021\/04\/the-pursuit-of-equity\/","url_meta":{"origin":587,"position":1},"title":"The Pursuit of Equity","author":"Doug Borwick","date":"April 21, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Is it possible (and it may not be) to develop generic parameters from which targets can be set for working toward equity in the nonprofit arts industry?","rel":"","context":"In "Overview"","block_context":{"text":"Overview","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/category\/overview\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/Equity-e1435255742641.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":4213,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/2015\/07\/afta-thoughts-2015-equity-watershed\/","url_meta":{"origin":587,"position":2},"title":"AftA Thoughts 2015: Equity Watershed?","author":"Doug Borwick","date":"July 15, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Americans for the Arts 2015 conference in Chicago appeared serious about addressing diversity and equity.","rel":"","context":"In "Principles"","block_context":{"text":"Principles","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/category\/principles\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Equity","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/Equity-e1435255742641.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":5784,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/2019\/12\/dei-statements\/","url_meta":{"origin":587,"position":3},"title":"DEI Statements","author":"Doug Borwick","date":"December 11, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"The importance of diversity, equity, and inclusion statements with a couple of recent examples.","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\/2015\/06\/Equity-e1435255742641.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":4553,"url":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/2016\/05\/cultural-equity\/","url_meta":{"origin":587,"position":4},"title":"Cultural Equity","author":"Doug Borwick","date":"May 25, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Americans for the Arts new Statement on Cultural Equity","rel":"","context":"In "Principles"","block_context":{"text":"Principles","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/category\/principles\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"AftA_Logo2016","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/AftA_Logo2016-e1463144171756.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":587,"position":5},"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 "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\/2019\/10\/Fail.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/587","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=587"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/587\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=587"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=587"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/engage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=587"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}