Statement of Cultural Equity

STATEMENT ON CULTURAL EQUITY

To support a full creative life for all, Childsplay commits to championing policies and practices of cultural equity that empower our Arizona community to become a more just, inclusive, and equitable place to live and thrive.

DEFINITION OF CULTURAL EQUITY

Cultural equity embodies the values, policies, and practices that ensure that all people—including but not limited to those who have been historically underrepresented based on race, ethnicity, age, disability, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, socioeconomic status, geography, citizenship status, or religion—are represented in the development of arts policy; the support of artists; the nurturing of accessible, thriving venues for expression; and the fair distribution of programmatic, financial, and informational resources.

It is central to our beliefs that in order to achieve our mission, to instill the awe and wonder of theatre to every child and community-member that seek it, it is vital that equitable and inclusive practices be embedded in the very DNA that makes up Childsplay.

We seek to do that in the following ways.

1. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS & AFFIRMATIONS

• In the United States, there are systems of power that grant privilege and access unequally, such that inequity and injustice result, and that must be continuously addressed and changed.
• Cultural equity is critical to the long-term viability of the arts sector.
• We must all hold ourselves accountable, because acknowledging and challenging our inequities and working in partnership is how we will make change happen.
• Everyone deserves equal access to a full, vibrant creative life, which is essential to a healthy and democratic society.
• The prominent presence of artists challenges inequities and encourages alternatives.

2. MODELING THROUGH ACTION

To provide informed, authentic leadership for cultural equity, we strive to…

• Pursue cultural consciousness throughout our organization through substantive learning and formal, transparent policies.
• Acknowledge and dismantle any inequities within our policies, systems, programs, or services, and report organization progress.
• Commit time and resources to expand more diverse leadership within our board, staff, and advisory bodies.

3. FUELING FIELD PROGRESS

To pursue needed systemic change related to equity, we strive to…

• Encourage substantive learning to build cultural consciousness and to proliferate pro-equity policies and practices by all of our constituencies and audiences.
• Improve the cultural leadership pipeline by creating and supporting programs and policies that foster leadership that reflects the full breadth of American society.
• Generate and aggregate quantitative and qualitative research related to equity to make incremental, measurable progress towards cultural equity more visible.
• Advocate for public and private-sector policy that promotes cultural equity.

We also acknowledge that this learning and unlearning in an ongoing process. We will continue to update this page as our listening and learning continues.

Questions & Feedback

If you would like to reach out to us about any of the above, or to help us on our journey to becoming a more culturally equitable organization, please reach out to Ricky Araiza, Associate Artistic Director - Director of Artist & Community Initiatives, at raraiza@childsplayaz.org.