Registration opens April 13 at 9 a.m.; closes April 21 at 5 p.m.

The Office of Arts & Culture in conjunction with the Office for Civil Rights (SOCR) is offering arts and cultural organizations the tools they need to turn their commitments to building racial equity – both within their organizations and through their work in and with community – into actions for tangible change. Part of the Community Institute for Racial Equity, this  cohort will include intensive training on  skills to address perceived and actual barriers to racial equity within arts and cultural organizations and the sector as a whole.

“One of the priorities of our Office is to ensure that the arts and culture sector thrives in Seattle,” says Kathy Hsieh, Cultural Partnerships & Funding Manager. “This vision is only possible if the arts and cultural scene is relevant and meaningful and inclusive of all the people who live and work and visit the City. But currently, because of the structural racism that exists, arts leaders, artists and arts and cultural organizations aren’t even aware of how we’re all holding this inequity in place. The workshops we’re offering are in direct response to the desire of many in our community to learn how we can all work together to create racial equity. Talking about it isn’t enough. We need to act upon our talk in order to make change happen.”

Pre-registration Checklist

1. Read the registration requirements carefully.
2. Share the cohort description and registration requirements with your executive director or group leader. Make sure the executive director or person with that level of authority signs the Organizational Commitment Form. (For groups with a horizontal leadership structure, please designate someone to sign the form on behalf of the group.)
3. Select and confirm which two – three individuals from your group will participate before completing the registration form. Make sure each person is able to attend all hours of each of the first two training dates and the follow-up session six weeks later. If someone is not able to attend all the sessions, we ask that you select another person or wait to participate in a future cohort. Additional cohort dates will be announced soon.

Who: Representatives of arts and cultural organizations. No previous training is required. Groups must meet all of the registration requirements. Each participant must complete their own registration form. Only 12 – 15 organizations will be able to participate. For a full list of requirements visit Turning Commitment into Action.

• Each organization must send 2-3 people who work in different parts of the organization, and are able to participate in the entire training and work together for up to 3 hours in-between the sessions. These people will need to be able to support each other’s work as change agents within the organization. These people must include:
  • At least one organizational decision-maker in a leadership position who is able to authorize implementation of planned changes and hold accountable all levels of the organization.
  • One-to-two others who are situated in different areas of the organization with access to complementary resources and levers to make change.
• Organizations must complete an Organizational Commitment Form. This states that the organization will fully participate in the training sessions and develop, implement and track progress on the racial equity plan created through this learning cohort.
• Participants must be able to meet together for a total of 3 – 4 hours (not necessarily consecutive) during the two weeks between the first and second training sessions.

What: During the training participants will build their analysis of racism and racial equity, learn how to use a racial equity assessment to identify personal and organizational power, and develop targeted strategies to achieve racial equity. They will then create a plan to build racial equity within their organizations and through their work with artists, audiences, partners and communities.

Dates: The cohort includes these required sessions:

• Two full-day training sessions with 3 – 4 hours of work in-between, the bulk of which will be done with the other people from your group: Friday, May 15, 8 a.m. – 6 p.m.; Friday, May 29, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m., at El Centro de la Raza
• A check-in session to explore tools and learn from peers’ successes and challenges: Wednesday, July 15, 1 p.m. – 5 p.m.
• A final session to assess progress and plan adjustments to strategies and tactics: 4 hours, fall 2015, TBD.

El Centro de la Raza
2524 16th Ave S.
Seattle, WA 98144

Register: Register and read all registration requirements at: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/TCAARTS1

Questions?

Between April 7 – 15^th at 12 pm Diana Falchuk – diana.falchuk@seattle.gov 206.684.5282

Between April 15^th at noon and April 21^st at 5pm Kathy Hsieh – Kathy.hsieh@seattle.gov 206.733.9926

Photo by Jenny Crooks