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Changing the Narrative: Equity and Access in the Arts for Black Communities

American Artscape | 2021 No. 1
Cover of American Artscape No 1 2021

Fellows, faculty, and staff at the 2014 Cave Canem retreat, which provides artistic and professional development for Black poets. Photo courtesy of Cave Canem

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About this Issue

The presence of people of color in the arts—both artists and audiences—has helped shape every facet of our culture. However, these immense contributions have not yet been fully recognized as an essential part of our American story.

We see this moment as an opportunity for the arts sector to rebuild in ways that benefit all Americans. Over the next several months, the National Endowment for the Arts will engage in a process of centering equity and justice—along the lines of race, ethnicity, gender, disability, religion, gender identity and sexual orientation, geography, poverty, and the infinite ways these intersect—in everything we do. This work is just beginning, but we are hopeful that it will bring lasting, system-wide change.

The National Endowment for the Arts strives to use its platforms to amplify the stories and narratives from the communities and cultures that help bring us closer to a more perfect union. So, it's our honor to introduce this issue of American Artscape, which lifts up artists steeped in the hard work of building a more equitable future. These stories feature some of the organizations serving Black artists and communities. There are countless incredible organizations across the country whose missions have always been to promote the work of Black artists, to show us that Black art matters, and to use the arts as a tool for racial and social justice.

By showcasing this work and helping share the Black artistic experience, we hope that the Arts Endowment is taking a small step on the long road toward equity in the arts.

Included in this Issue

A Black woman in a blue dress and black veil sits in a chair to the left, a woman with a top hat and veil stands to the left and through the door way of a plantation mansion is a Black man standing over a table.

De-invisibilizing

Wideman Davis Dance Gives Voice to Enslaved Blacks with "Migratuse Ataraxia"
Group of Black writers standing in front of a building.

Breaking the Chain

Cave Canem Creates a New Landscape for Black Poetry
Student wearing hat dancing while a girl sitting cross-legged nearby watches.

Joy is an Act of Resistance

Arts Corps Breaks Down Barriers in Arts Education
Historic photo of buildings burned down or bombed in Tulsa.

Sacred Ground

A Commissioning Project to Commemorate the Tulsa Race Massacre
The outside of a church.

Let Black Voices Ring Again

Using Design to Help a Community Reclaim Its History

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