Hill Strategies Research on Diversity and Equity

The latest issue of Hill Strategies' Arts Research Monitor includes an in-depth study of the situation of diverse arts organizations in Canada and the United States, two Canadian guides for developing accessible and inclusive programming, and an American literature review related to cultural equity and inclusion. 

Below is a summary of each study; click the links to read the full versions of the reports.

Figuring the Plural: Needs and Supports of Canadian and US Ethnocultural Arts Organizations

Plural, October 2014
Authors: Mina Para Matlon, Ingrid Van Haastrecht, and Kaitlyn Wittig Mengüç
http://www.pluralculture.org/programs-services/figuring-the-plural-book/

This 358-page report presents a number of findings concerning “the characteristics, needs, and support systems” of “ethnocultural arts organizations”.
 

The Art of Inclusion – Seven Steps

A Guide to Developing and Delivering Accessible and Inclusive Programs within Arts and Cultural Organizations
McMichael Canadian Art Collection, August 8, 2014
http://mcmichael.com/artofinclusion/

Originally developed for the art education experiences provided by the McMichael Canadian Art Collection, this guidebook outlines “seven steps to accessible and inclusive programs” that can be “beneficial to both audience and institution”.
 

Expanding the Arts: A Guidebook for Working with Artists who are Deaf or have Disabilities

Canada Council for the Arts, Spring 2015
http://canadacouncil.ca/equity-office/cultivate

Developed as part of the Canada Council’s Expanding the Arts strategy, this guidebook aims to provide “an important resource for companies and organizations working towards increasing the participation rates within their processes of people who are Deaf or who have disabilities”.

Cultural Equity and Inclusion Initiative: Literature Review

Los Angeles County Arts Commission, April 2016
Authors: Bronwyn Mauldin, Susannah Laramee Kidd, and Jesse Ruskin
http://www.lacountyarts.org/pubannounce/pubdetails/id/521

This literature review investigates how some cultural organizations and funders have improved “diversity in cultural organizations, in the areas of their leadership, staffing, programming and audience composition”.