State of the Arts in Mississippi

This is not an issue that can be fixed with a grant program or a new funding initiative. It cannot be solved with a few discipline-specific conversations on diversity. It can only be solved when a critical mass of our sector feels that this issue is important enough to shift our missions.

We shouldn’t still be trying to convince our peers that there are problems; it detracts from our ability to strategize solutions to fix them. This work requires us to take a critical look at our sector and understand our role in changing an ecosystem. There is no way to separate the past from the present or the future. It is a continuum. We decide tomorrow by how we respond to the challenges of today.

Our work in the arts sector is on the frontline of the imagination. Whether we like it or not, we have chosen to make a career in a field that is potentially the most powerful medium of transformation. We possess the power to dream and manifest change through our work as tradition bearers and culture shapers. Let’s take this moment as a challenge to live a better history.