Preface
It is impossible to ignore the collective grief and loss that is being experienced in Indigenous communities in this present moment. We recognize that our members are all confronting the truth of these atrocities, and grappling with our role as arts educators in this work.
In the past year we have learned, listened, failed, and tried again. We have broadened our communities, and become more aware of the communities we have yet to connect with.
As an organization we need to follow through on the commitments we made to the Black Community last year, with a statement that includes specific goals, intentionality and transparency. We also want to acknowledge that this statement is overdue. We hope to use this framework to make meaningful commitments to other racialized and marginalized communities in our current and aspirational network going forward.
In the coming months we will work to establish meaningful relationships with the Indigenous arts education community. We will continue to find ways to support our members in unlearning, decolonizing and Indigenizing our work and spaces in arts education. We look forward to sharing more about our plans to formalize this work with you in the near future.
Commitment Statement to the Black Community
Intention
Anti-Black racism exists in art spaces, arts educational spaces. As the Arts Education Network of Ontario exists in both of those spheres we recognize our responsibility to dedicate space for Black communities in arts education.
Action
We are committing to establishing partnerships with at least 3 Black-led arts organizations. Each partnership may look different, based on the organization, but will include opportunities to:
Share relevant resources with Black-led organizations to support the work they are already doing.
Provide opportunities for Black-led organizations to share knowledge with the Arts Education Network of Ontario’s membership.
We commit to creating relevant programming that engages and supports the development of young/emerging Black artists and artist-educators.
Auditing our outreach processes to address any oppressive language and practices that may have impacted Black communities.
Fostering more authentic and meaningful relationships with Black artist educators and administrators.
Dedicate space for Black artist educators and administrators through events, drop-ins, meet-ups, mentorship, professional development opportunities.
Transparency
We commit to providing an annual progress report at the Annual General Meeting outlining our successes and failures. We are an organization in transition, and we hope these commitments will lead us on the path to doing better. We ask our members and our community to hold us accountable for these commitments.