Berkshire/Columbia Counties Arts Organizations Launch Regional Pay Equity Initiative
BERKSHIRE/COLUMBIA COUNTIES ARTS ORGANIZATIONS LAUNCH
REGIONAL PAY EQUITY INITIATIVE
CONTACT: Aron Goldman, 413-218-7865, aronpgoldman@gmail.com
Equity starts with arts and culture workers being able to support themselves and their families. Passion is not a substitute for livable wages. But it is a common tale told by nonprofit employers, and employees too, as they try to make ends meet doing what they love. A collaboration of cultural nonprofits from Berkshire and Columbia Counties is seeking input about how chronic low pay for nonprofit arts professionals perpetuates inequities, contributes to personal and family instability, and is a barrier for participation in the regional arts and culture sector.
To ensure that all voices are heard, the public is asked to help disseminate this link and QR code to a brief survey for current and former entry- and mid-level regional arts and culture workers. The cohort hopes to amplify local voices reflecting on how employment works—or doesn’t work—for cultural employees in the Berkshire/Columbia County region. The survey will be open through December 5th: https://bit.ly/Equitysurvey2022 . Social media samples here.
The results of the survey will be combined with the results of a focus group series and a compensation benchmarking analysis to create a set of sector recommendations and commitments to increase equity. This announcement will take place in early 2023.
As of November 2022, the Columbia/Berkshire Counties Compensation Equity Project includes: Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center, WAM Theatre, Community Access to the Arts (CATA), Art Omi, Berkshire Art Center (formerly IS183 Art School), and Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival. The Project, which is funded in part by the Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation, was launched during the 2021 Multicultural BRIDGE Inclusive Leadership Cohort, and is informed by local and national equity initiatives.
“Over the last four years, BRIDGE has served as a consulting partner and coach to the Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation Arts Build Community (ABC) in their efforts to develop capacity and accountability within local arts institutions, identifying barriers to access in our cultural sector. We’ve done this primarily through a combination of BRIDGE training, executive coaching, and more recently, our timely and bold Inclusive Leadership Cohort for Social Change (ILC) program.
“Through ILC, I’ve witnessed earnest effort in identifying how these cultural institutions have made progress on equity issues like pay equity for arts professionals in this initiative; a need for more diverse leadership and audience participation; and culturally relevant presentations and programs. These are some of the highest priorities we’ve identified in our arts community here to create new pathways to solutions. I am proud to see the fruits of ILC leaders’ dedicated efforts to make real change. This is the result of leaders authentically listening to concerns raised by a much wider set of arts professionals in our community.” - Gwendolyn VanSant, CEO and Founding Director of BRIDGE
The collaborators in this compensation equity project, who represent the executive leadership of their organizations, strongly believe that the local arts sector cannot make good on its commitments to diversity, equity and inclusion without addressing head-on the issue of compensation. Entry- and mid-level jobs that pay adequately are key to creating an on-ramp for people of diverse socioeconomic, racial, and ethnic backgrounds to pursue a career in the arts, and ultimately strengthening the sector as a result.
“New cultural offerings in our region are attracting growing numbers of homebuyers and visitors, while underfunded compensation models for arts professionals, especially entry- and mid-level workers, sustain outdated and elitist notions that working in the arts is a privilege that justifies sacrifice. The problem with that assumption is that it reserves work in the arts for individuals who have other forms of financial security or are willing to sacrifice financial security for work in the non-profit sector, limiting the voices and perspectives represented within our sector.” - Gavin Berger, Board Member at Art Omi
“By assessing and ultimately improving compensation in entry-level and mid-level jobs, we can improve access to careers in local nonprofit arts organizations for candidates from diverse socioeconomic and racial backgrounds, improving our organizations, extending our artistic breadth, and better serving our community.” - Kristen van Ginhoven, Producing Artistic Director of WAM Theatre
“Berkshire Taconic is grateful for the committed arts and culture organizations that have taken on this important project to critically examine compensation levels to better ensure equity. This information will help retain and recruit skilled staff who are vital to the region’s workforce and our neighbors.” - Emily Bronson, Senior Community Engagement Officer at Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation
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Additional contacts:
Art Omi
Co-Executive Director: Jeremy Adams
1405 County Route 22, Ghent, NY 12075
518-392-4747
Art Omi believes that exposure to internationally diverse creative voices fosters acceptance and respect, raises awareness, inspires innovation, and ignites change. By forming community with creative expression as its common denominator, Art Omi creates a sanctuary for the artistic community and the public to affirm the transformative quality of art. Art Omi is a not-for-profit arts center with a 120-acre sculpture and architecture park and gallery, residency programs for international artists, writers, translators, musicians, architects and dancers.
Berkshire Art Center
Executive Director: Lucie Castaldo
13 Willard Hill Road, Stockbridge MA 01262
141 North Street, Suite 2, Pittsfield MA 01201
413.298.5252 x101
Berkshire Art Center (formerly, IS183 Art School) is a nonprofit community art center with the mission to encourage people of all ages, means, and skill levels to enrich their lives through hands-on experience in the visual arts. Founded in 1991, BAC has evolved to reach over 2,000 students each year through studio-based classes, artistic events, and out-of-school engagement programs for all ages, means, and skill levels.
Community Access to the Arts (CATA)
Executive Director: Margaret Keller
420 Stockbridge Road #2
Great Barrington, MA 01230
413.528.5485
Community Access to the Arts (CATA) is a nonprofit arts organization with a mission to nurture and celebrate the creativity of people with disabilities. Through dynamic arts workshops and events, CATA artists tap into their talents and share their creativity with the community. CATA partners with day programs, schools, social service agencies, and community centers to bring visual and performing arts programs to over 800 people with disabilities across Berkshire and Columbia counties.
Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival
Deputy Director: A. J. Pietrantone
358 George Carter Road, Becket, MA 01223
413.243.9919
Jacob’s Pillow, a National Historic Landmark and recipient of the National Medal of Arts, is a year-round center for dance and home to America's longest-running international dance festival. The Pillow encompasses the world-renowned international Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival, presenting more than 50 dance companies and over 350 events each summer; The School at Jacob’s Pillow, one of the most prestigious professional dance training centers in the U.S.; the Pillow Lab, a residency program that supports new choreography; growing Community Engagement programs that serve local school children, artists, and community members alike; rare and extensive dance Archives, open to the public and available online at danceinteractive.jacobspillow.org, which chronicle more than a century of dance through photographs, videos of performances and talks with artists, costumes, and scholarly essays; and Apprenticeships, a Fellows Program, and an Internship Program that provide professional advancement and training opportunities.
Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center
Executive Director: Janis Martinson
413-644-9040
Located in downtown Great Barrington, Mass., the Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center is the year-round presenter of world-class music, dance, theater, opera, classic films, Live in HD broadcasts, and arts education programs for the southern Berkshires and neighboring regions. The intimate 1905 theater has hosted over 1,500 events and welcomed over half a million people through its doors since its incorporation as a non-profit performing arts center in 2005.
WAM Theatre
Producing Artistic Director, Kristen van Ginhoven
PO Box 712, Lenox, MA, 01240
413-274-8122 x 102
WAM Theatre is a professional theatre company based in Berkshire County, MA, that operates at the intersection of arts and activism. WAM creates theatre for gender equity and has a vision of theatre as philanthropy. In fulfillment of its philanthropic mission, WAM donates a portion of the proceeds from their Mainstage productions to carefully selected recipients. In addition to Mainstage productions and special events, WAM’s activities include innovative community engagement programs and the Fresh Takes Play Reading Series. For more information, visit www.wamtheatre.com