Updated Inclusion, Diversity, Access, and Equity (IDEA) Statement

Why IDEA?

Inclusion, diversity, equity, and access (IDEA) are sources of creativity, excellence, and innovation. Building our communities around these values fosters cultural understanding and connection. IDEA creates the conditions for more honest, just, and compassionate relationships, which in turn creates a greater sense of belonging. Belonging goes beyond inclusion to mean that individuals feel welcomed, valued, and involved in shaping their communities, as well as empowered to express their needs and receive care.

Arts and IDEA

All forms of artistic expression, experience, and interpretation are tools for activating these values of inclusion, diversity, equity, and access in communities. The arts hold a unique power to challenge dominant ways of thinking and being, to offer greater understanding of the world, and to transform how we relate to one another. Furthermore, we believe that interdisciplinary practice in the arts can dismantle barriers and build bridges, cultivate intellectual artistic diversity, and offer opportunities to people who have been excluded from traditional modes of inquiry and practice.

IDEA at Division of the Arts

The Division commits to removing all oppressive systems and ideologies within our organization, which requires an equitable distribution of resources, shared power, and shifts in institutional practices that uphold white supremacy and other discriminatory ideologies. Division leadership and staff are working to center inclusion, diversity, equity, and access in all of our programming and practices. To learn more about the concrete steps we are taking and for updates on our progress, please visit our Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Access Committee webpage.