Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

As we come to the close of February, and therefore the close of Black History Month, I wanted to take a moment to reflect on the many posts sharing black stories. There have been calls reminding us to celebrate #blackgirlmagic, to speak out the truth that #BlackLivesMatter, and reminders that movements only succeed when we’re all active and engaged. For these reasons, we at GIA commit ourselves to racial equity in our work, our team, and in the field.

In honor of this year's Museum Advocacy Day, which takes place Feb. 25-26 in Washington, D.C., at Grantmakers in the Arts we look back at some of the museum contents we have published in our news feed and Reader. Some of the posts tackle diversity initiatives in both staff and boards while others explore the importance of integrating missing -or underrepresented- voices and artists.

The Mosaic Network and Fund in The New York Community Trust, a learning network and collaborative fund to support arts and cultural organizations that are led by, created for, and accountable to ALAANA people will kick off in March, announced a post penned by Maurine Knighton and Kerry McCarthy, co-chairs, advisory committee of The Mosaic Network and Fund in The New York Community Trust.

The Doris Duke Charitable Foundation (DDCF) recently announced 16 arts organizations received awards in recognition of their work and for their potential continued impact on their fields.

The Kellogg Foundation's Community Leadership Network, that seeks to promote racial equity and get people involved in the communities where they live, includes in its most recent class from tribal leaders to a dentist, reports The Chronicle of Philanthropy.

The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) will close for four months, from June 15 to October 21, "to reconfigure its galleries, rehang the entire collection and rethink the way that the story of modern and contemporary art is presented to the public," reported The New York Times.

Resonance: A Framework for Philanthropic Transformation is a guide that, according to the announcement, seeks to inspire institutions to redistribute wealth, democratize power, and shift economic control to communities.

"One thing that is really important to building community and creating systems change is developing space that builds agency and power,” says Sage Crump, program specialist for the National Performance Network (NPN)'s initiative Leveraging a Network of Equity (LANE) in an article that addresses advancing systems change, transformative justice, and shifting power to achieve a justice ecosystem.

The Catalyst Fund, a pilot program of annual grants to adult and youth orchestras that aims to advance their understanding of equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) and to foster effective EDI practices, was recently launched by the League of American Orchestras.

“Facing Change: Advancing Museum Board Diversity & Inclusion” is a newly released national initiative launched by the American Alliance of Museums (AAM) to diversify museum boards and leadership.