It is a STAGE to Engineer Equity

In the deepest reservoirs of my humanity, I believe that every human being on the planet has the fundamental right to have access to resources and opportunities specific to her, his, or their needs to live a full and enriching life and, thus, equity sits as a cornerstone of a true democracy.

I have lived my life governed by values of artistry, democracy, and equity and while I am profoundly humbled to have the opportunity to work in a place with the rich legacy that is Harlem and to lead the internationally influential New York cultural institution that is Harlem Stage, a beacon of the values that I hold dear, it is not lost on me that my leadership tenure begins in 2024 at a time when we must face – head on – the fragility of our fractured democracy, challenge demagoguery and the normalization of blatant falsehoods, and demand that cultural institutions be thought of as first responders and artists as frontline workers in this quest to create a more just, more truthful, more inclusive and more equitable world for the next generation and for generations to come.

But even as I write this, I know that due to persistent and longstanding inequitable systems and structures, artists and institutions of the Global Majority remain the underinvested communities of the 21st century.

A Helicon Collaborative study “Not Just Money” from 2017 analyzed funding trends across the country and found that out of 41,000 cultural groups, just 2% received 60 percent of all contributed income and those institutions were focused on Western European arts, serving upper-income, predominantly white audiences. Institutions of the Global Majority who represent 85% of the world’s population have received only 10% of contributed income.

Despite the art’s role as a contributor to thriving neighborhoods, there has been historically inadequate investment in arts in low-to-moderate income communities. Persistent disinvestment and marginalization have left arts organizations of color fragile. 87% of the African American theaters founded in the 1960s and beyond went out of business by the 1990s; yet these organizations are essential to providing access to arts education for low-income and marginalized communities, promoting accurate cultural representations, and preserving the unique cultural heritage of spaces; all critical to the building of a robustly diverse and equitable civilization.

This is what makes Harlem Stage’s mission, so profoundly relevant: To ignite artistic freedom of performing artists of the Global Majority (85% of the Global Population) who are poised to create new works, new ideas, and a new world in which ALL people can flourish.

I hope you will join us in this journey and see you soon at Harlem Stage!
Dr. Indira Etwaroo
Email me at [email protected]

I hope you will join us in this journey! There are several ways you can. Donate! Volunteer! Sign-Up!

See you soon at Harlem Stage!

Dr. Indira Etwaroo I [email protected]