Cultivate Anti-Racism Statement

Cultivate is firmly rooted in the identity that we are an anti-racist organization. Racism is deep-rooted in American society and has historically been embedded and perpetuated. We actively disavow all racism, xenophobia, homophobia, sexism, transphobia, Islamophobia, anti-Semitism, ageism, classism, ableism, and hate speech or actions that attempt to silence, threaten, gatekeep, and marginalize.

We at Cultivate commit to working to create an intentionally anti-racist community. We believe that intersectionality is the only approach to genuinely reflecting and amplifying voice, narratives, and life experiences.

The goal of inclusiveness, in a diverse community, encourages and appreciates expressions of different ideas, opinions, and beliefs, so that conversations and interactions that could potentially be divisive turn instead into opportunities for intellectual and personal enrichment. We create space to hold space, and, in that, we value critical reasoning, evidence-based arguments, self-reflection, and imagination.

Anti-Racism Policy in Action

We proudly and fully commit to continually strengthening our belief structure and practices for all members of the Cultivate community. That means finding concrete ways to address the needs of all Cultivate community locally, regionally, and nationally. Some examples of this work include:

Our curatorial vision shares that we exhibit the work of emerging to midcareer artists, specifically those of historically and currently marginalized communities - including, but not limited to: BIPOC artists, women, artists over the age of 55, artists with disabilities, LGBTQIA2S+ artists
Actively decolonizing art history by teaching living, contemporary artists who are historically and currently marginalized - including, but not limited to: BIPOC artists, women, artists over the age of 55, artists with disabilities, LGBTQIA2S+ artists
Artwork in the gallery is actively taught within our courses
Creating an equity communications strategy that includes community-wide messages to respond to racial and social inequities, political statements, and standing by this policy and mission we have.
Facilitate dialogue, ensure academic freedom, and create a culture of “calling in” as opposed to “calling out.”
All department chairs integrate Inclusion and Equity goals into their overall Department Goals
Year round, dedicated work should be done to support this policy, therefore we will not participate in “months” that “celebrate people”
We build partnerships with diverse communities, including tribal communities and artists’ groups.
When hiring new staff and apprentices, we will expand our existing efforts to use recruiting techniques that attract a diverse pool of applicants. As part of our ongoing learning plan, hiring managers will continue to receive implicit bias training annually.
The Board of Directors will continue to use the established nominating process to identify new members who enrich the board in a variety of ways, with a focus on increasing the BIPOC representation of our board.

We Continue to Learn

As reflected in our Anti-Racism Statement, we will continue to dedicate both resources and time to build an inclusive community. We recognize that this work is perpetually ongoing, and that we must continue to prove to our community and stakeholders, through our actions, that we are serious about making tangible differences that are reflected in our Employee Handbook, employee hiring practices and salaries, curriculum offerings, classroom atmosphere, student life, faculty culture, and all facets of Cultivate both in our gallery and education space and in our communities.