GVCA's Commitment to Our Community
From the Board and Staff at GVCA:
The Genesee Valley Council on the Arts stands in solidarity with those in our community and across the nation who have come together in peaceful protest against racism, police brutality, and the political, economic, and cultural forces that have conspired to normalize white privilege. We share in the outpouring of grief and anger over the senseless loss of Black American lives, including those of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and so many others.
As an organization dedicated to promoting arts and culture in our community, we understand that diversity is a wellspring of creative expression and that the arts cannot flourish in a society where our Black and Brown neighbors, colleagues, friends, and family members are routinely silenced, marginalized, jailed, or even killed.
We affirm that everyone has the right to express themselves through art, and we are committed to making the Genesee Valley into the type of safe, inclusive, and respectful community where that can occur. We welcome and celebrate the racial, ethnic, and cultural diversity of our local artists, of our members, and of anyone who believes, as we do, in the transforming, ennobling power of art. Our differences--in heritage, identity, perspective, creative vision, and so much more--are what make us stronger. Because the arts allow us to express these differences, we are all enriched.
We realize that statements are meaningless without action. Thus, we ask that everyone in our local arts community use their creativity, resources, and power to help bring about a society that is truly safe, inclusive, and respectful. We pledge to do the same, beginning with a thorough review of all aspects of our organization in order to identify any ways in which we have unintentionally contributed to the normalization of white privilege. If we have fallen short in our mission to celebrate and promote diversity, we will change.
One of the many reasons that we all are so passionate about the arts is because painting, sculpture, music, poetry, and other creative endeavors do not simply offer us a new perspective on reality; instead, they enable us to imagine a different way of living, a different world. The Genesee Valley Council on the Arts is committed to imagining and making real that other world--a place where all of us, and especially Black and Brown Americans, feel safe, included, and respected.
Signed,
Genesee Valley Council on the Arts
Some local organizations focused on supporting Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) through work related to arts and culture: