{"id":7417,"date":"2018-05-25T21:02:21","date_gmt":"2018-05-26T01:02:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/?p=7417"},"modified":"2018-05-25T21:02:21","modified_gmt":"2018-05-26T01:02:21","slug":"arts-leaders-of-color","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/2018\/05\/25\/arts-leaders-of-color\/","title":{"rendered":"Arts Leaders Of Color Panel: \u2018How Do You Make A Majority-Minority City Not So Segregated?\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

In 1970, nearly 70 percent of Boston\u2019s population was white. But according to a 2014 Boston Redevelopment Authority Report<\/a>, these days, whites account for 47 percent of Boston\u2019s residents\u2014making it a majority-minority community.<\/p>\n

But that is not reflected by the number of people of color in leadership positions, said Myran Parker-Brass, executive director for the arts at the Boston Public Schools, at the talk \u201cThe Path Forward: A Conversation on Racial Equity in Arts Leadership\u201d<\/a> organized by the Network for Arts Administrators of Color at Boston\u2019s Institute of Contemporary Art last night.<\/p>\n

Young professionals of color are leaving Boston because of the skyrocketing costs of housing and because they feel isolated from other folks of color here, said Justin Kang, vice president for economic growth at the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce; executive director of the chamber\u2019s City Awake, which aims to nurture the city\u2019s next generation of leaders; and a board member of the state arts advocacy group MassCreative. Later he asked, \u201cHow do you make a majority-minority city not so segregated?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe definitely have a representation issue,\u201d said Yasmin Cruz, who is involved in client service and strategic planning at the investment management firm Brown Advisory and serves on the board of the ArtsBoston consortium of local arts organizations. She previously worked on community investment strategy for the John Hancock financial firm. \u201cI think things are shifting here.\u201d She said there are more opportunities for mentorship and sponsorship\u2014and those opportunities are offered by more people.<\/p>\n

That was the context for the talk the three gave yesterday. \u201cThe Path Forward\u201d was the third in a series of conversations presented by ArtsBoston\u2019s Network for Arts Administrators of Color, which was launched in 2016 \u201cto enhance the visibility of professionals of color in Greater Boston\u2019s arts and culture sector, as well as widen the leadership pipeline and highlight opportunities for professional and personal growth in the field.\u201d<\/p>\n

More than 200 people are now involved in the group. \u201cThe narrative that there aren\u2019t enough leaders of color or arts administrators of color is still a myth that exists in Boston,\u201d network founder Victoria George, also ArtsBoston\u2019s Audience Lab director, noted last night.<\/p>\n

\"Myran<\/a>
Myran Parker-Brass (from left), Justin Kang and Yasmin Cruz speak at \u201cThe Path Forward: A Conversation on Racial Equity in Arts Leadership\u201d organized by the Network for Arts Administrators of Color at Boston\u2019s Institute of Contemporary Art, May 24, 2018. (Greg Cook)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Help Wonderland keep producing our great coverage of local arts, cultures and activisms (and our great festivals) by contributing to Wonderland on Patreon<\/a>. And sign up for our free, weekly newsletter<\/a> so that you don’t miss any of our reporting.<\/em><\/p>\n

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Much of last night\u2019s panel discussion focused on the relationship between arts and Boston\u2019s business community.<\/p>\n

\u201cArts and culture is completely vital to what we do, especially in talent attraction and retention,\u201d Kang said. Half the city\u2019s workforce is in their 20s and 30s, he said. \u201cSince 2015, millennials are leaving and that\u2019s because other cities are providing millennials with great jobs.\u201d But people say they are attracted to other cities by restaurants and other amenities, he said. \u201cWe need to create that emotional connection.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHousing affordability is very expensive here,\u201d Kang added. \u201cNY and SF espouse this utopian vision of arts and culture and they will pay that premium to live in those cities.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cruz talked of \u201cart as a destination,\u201d that art brings in tourism.<\/p>\n

\u201cI and my colleagues need to do a better job of communicating the value\u201d of the arts, Kang said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe certainly are a hub given the volume of art serving organizations that are here in the city. It can feel very fragmented by neighborhood,\u201d Cruz said. \u201cTransportation is an issue, so even if there are late night options, transportation is an issue. \u2026 We\u2019re not really late night.\u201d<\/p>\n

Previous generations of people of color, Cruz said, got into leadership positions and worried about maintaining their positions. \u201cI don\u2019t think the conversation was how do I bring people along? \u2026 What does my legacy look like? How am I engaging the next generation?\u201d<\/p>\n

Parker-Brass acknowledged, \u201cWe came as the only one of those inside an institution. We spent a lot of time putting our stake in the ground. I don\u2019t think we thought a lot about who am I bringing behind me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\u201cThe<\/a>
\u201cThe Path Forward: A Conversation on Racial Equity in Arts Leadership\u201d organized by the Network for Arts Administrators of Color at Boston\u2019s Institute of Contemporary Art, May 24, 2018. (Greg Cook)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cI think we need to invest a lot more in arts education,\u201d Kang said. \u201cCreativity is the thing that will distinguish us from robots. \u2026 The jobs will be given to those who have creativity 25 years from now. We need a workforce that has the ability to think conceptually, to think abstractly.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a tough environment in the corporate funding community for the arts,\u201d Cruz said. \u201cBut education is certainly in many corporations\u2019 priorities.\u201d<\/p>\n

From the audience, a woman who identified herself as an architect asked what about people without access to the Institute of Contemporary Art or Boston\u2019s Museum of Fine Arts? \u201cMaybe the ICA should put a little outpost in Roxbury. You need to go where the people are.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a tremendous community of color being left out of the arts,\u201d the architect said. \u201cHow do we spread the wealth of the arts to the community?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you have a seat at the table bring someone else along with you,\u201d Cruz said. \u201cThe reality is a lot of it is shifting things one at a time.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Myran<\/a>
Myran Parker-Brass (from left), Justin Kang and Yasmin Cruz speak at \u201cThe Path Forward: A Conversation on Racial Equity in Arts Leadership\u201d organized by the Network for Arts Administrators of Color at Boston\u2019s Institute of Contemporary Art, May 24, 2018. (Greg Cook)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cFrom a young age, the best indicator of economic success is who you know,\u201d Kang said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re getting major institutions to host events for millennials of color,\u201d Kang added. But it\u2019s not just about opening up the Museum of Fine Arts. \u201cIt\u2019s about elevating the existing work of institutions of communities of color and getting people to go to that place too.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe live in our very siloed communities,\u201d Kang said. \u201cHow do you then expand those networks?\u201d He suggested making collaborations and partnerships with communities with which you\u2019re less familiar.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need to cross the rivers,\u201d George said. \u201cWe need to be mindful of why don\u2019t we find ourselves in those neighborhoods.\u201d<\/p>\n

Previously:<\/strong> Dec. 13, 2017: Arts Leaders Of Color Panel: \u2018If This Sector Can\u2019t Be Diverse And Inclusive, Who Else Can Be?\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n

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Help Wonderland keep producing our great coverage of local arts, cultures and activisms (and our great festivals) by contributing to Wonderland on Patreon<\/a>. And sign up for our free, weekly newsletter<\/a> so that you don’t miss any of our reporting.<\/em><\/p>\n

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In 1970, nearly 70 percent of Boston\u2019s population was white. But according to a 2014 Boston Redevelopment Authority Report, these days, whites account for 47 percent of Boston\u2019s residents\u2014making it a majority-minority community. But that is not reflected by the number of people of color in leadership positions, said Myran Parker-Brass, executive director for the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7429,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[100],"tags":[148,37,96,149,87],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7417"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7417"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7417\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7430,"href":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7417\/revisions\/7430"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7429"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7417"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7417"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gregcookland.com\/wonderland\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7417"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}