Charles G. Baldwin, Program Officer
As Mass Cultural Council continues to evaluate our progress towards equitably investing in all communities that comprise the state’s cultural sector, we also want to be intentional and mindful of providing the resources that will create a positive impact. We want the seeds of equity to be planted, nurtured, and rooted in our creative practices as we work to disrupt institutional and systemic oppression and move towards creative justice.
Launched in 2021, Mass Cultural Council’s Racial Equity Plan outlines the Agency’s approach with internal and external stakeholders and draws a timeline of our actions to be both transparent and accountable to working towards a cultural shift.
We are pleased to partner with the Co-Directors of Arts Connect International (ACI) — Deidra Montgomery, Meena Malik, Joseph Quisol, micah rosegrant, Zakiyyah Sutton, Alyssa Liles-Amponsah, Andrea Gordillo, and Marian Taylor Brown — on launching the Cultural Equity Learning Community 2.0 (CELC 2.0), an asynchronous anti-racism course, this summer. CELC 2.0 was developed by ACI to support our arts and culture ecosystem — and its leadership — in progressing equitable practices.
Mass Cultural Council staff has recommended providing financial support for up to 1,000 Massachusetts artists and cultural sector leaders to attend this training series in FY23, pending our final state budget appropriation and approval of the Agency’s FY23 Spending Plan by the governing Council.
Comprised of two units, 12 total sessions, CELC 2.0 is open to leaders committed to building equity. When addressing equity within the United States landscape, including, but not limited to equity within the arts, we must face the nation’s history of slavery, genocide, and oppression, leading to systemic and institutionalized racism, sexism, classism, xenophobia, ableism, and, more directly, the rise and valuation of patriarchal white supremacy.
This collaborative course has four core objectives: to reduce harm, increase skill sets, activate anti-racism, and build equitable organizations. Together, with ACI’s dynamic leadership, we will continue to impact and strengthen communities throughout the Commonwealth. Registration is available for both the Summer Cohort (July – December 2022) and Fall Cohort (September 2022 – March 2023).
Summer Cohort registration closes on July 13, 2022. Fall Cohort registration closes on August 31, 2022.