Lane Arts Council roundtables to examine issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion in the local arts community

News release from the Lane Arts Council

Ayisha Elliott will facilitate a community discussion on social privilege and racism in the arts, sponsored by Lane Arts Council

Lane Arts Council presents a two-part series of Arts & Culture Roundtables with Ayisha Elliott. Attendees will explore a conversation around white savior complex and where our relationships to privilege can complicate our intentions and our collective impact. Elliott, skilled in creating spaces where vulnerability, honesty, and courage can thrive, will provide essential reflection and inquiry to support all participants in understanding the deep and layered relationship of privilege and racism.

These two virtual conversations will be Nov. 9 and 16 from 4 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Participation in Arts & Culture Roundtables is free and open to all, but registration is required. Artists, arts and cultural administrators, board members of arts and cultural organizations, and local arts advocates are encouraged to “attend.”

It is strongly encouraged that those interested in participating make the commitment to attend both parts of this series. However, registration is allowed for single session participation for those interested, but unable to attend the full series.

Register at https://lanearts.org/roundtables/

The presenter

Ayisha Elliott is an award-winning writer, motivational speaker, race equity educator, small business consultant, and founder of Kids for the Culture, formerly Black Gold Culture Camp. She has designed her work as a direct response to the cultural gap in diversity, equity, and inclusion practices. She focuses her approach on aligning intention to impact. For over 25 years, her distinctively unique approach to this work has created, engaged, and successfully facilitated a developmental understanding of a deeply personal connection to race, equity, and inclusion in both local and national health care systems, as well as state level government sectors and local nonprofits. Her current work continues to focus on aligning intention to impact while lending a diversity, equity, and inclusion lens through consultations, lectures, and training series for small businesses. She is the exclusive content producer for her original podcast: Black Girl from Eugene.

About Arts & Culture Roundtables

In 2020, Lane Arts Council and community partners began bringing together Lane County artists and arts administrators for facilitated conversations around the current issues impacting our arts community, and provide opportunities to share challenges, questions, ideas, and support. This series of roundtables is a continuation of the greater conversation of diversity, equity, and inclusion in the arts with a focus on racial justice.

Arts & Culture Roundtables are a partnership of Lane Arts Council, Arts & Business Alliance of Eugene, Florence Regional Arts Alliance, Minority Voices Theatre, Wordcrafters in Eugene, and City of Eugene Cultural Services. The series of community conversations is sponsored by Springfield Arts Commission and Columbia Bank.