How working with community connectors helps to shape an arts centre that's truly for everyone
Guided by an unshakeable belief in the power of the arts and creativity to transform lives, we take our role as a community arts centre to heart; helping artists of all ages, backgrounds and abilities uncover their creative potential, explore their passions, and share their talents with the people they care about.
Our goal at artsPlace is to continuously cultivate a space in which everyone feels safe, inspired, and included—a place where everyone belongs. We believe that diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) are more than just words, they are practices we need to engage in on a daily basis. With that in mind, inclusivity has been a part of our mandate since the vision for artsPlace started taking shape.
Since 2020, artsPlace has undergone different stages of training in DEI, Indigenous Awareness, cultural sensitivity, and more.
“We understood that a true diversity, equity and inclusion process starts from the inside out,” says artsPlace programs director Nicole Fougère. “That meant we wanted to do a lot of training for our staff, Board and artist educators at the beginning steps of our process, so that we could have a common understanding of what it means.”
“artsPlace responded with a strong desire and commitment to this process,” adds Becky Lipton Fournier, artsPlace director of fund development and strategic initiatives. “I feel grateful that there is such a genuine interest and dedication to doing this work.”
Our aspiration is for DEI to be a responsive process, always evolving based on feedback from the many diverse voices in our community. We knew that at the heart of this journey would be an act of deep listening to our community.
To understand how we can better serve each individual and the many communities that make up the Bow Valley, address the barriers they face, and become a truly welcoming and inclusive organization, we engaged SLD Consulting to complete a comprehensive DEI Audit between November 2022 and June 2023.
The DEI Audit included Listening Circles where diverse community members gathered to share their honest experiences with our consultants. Community Connectors helped us bring together participants newly settled in Canmore, those from the disability and neurodiverse community, Stoney Nakoda community members, as well as other underrepresented communities. We also held Listening Circles with our Board and staff, and sent out a survey to artsPlace community members, including volunteers, teaching artists, performers, and other partners.
We wanted to hear not only from artsPlace patrons but also from folks who were experiencing a variety of barriers to accessing the centre.
“The community kept saying over and over again; please keep going with your Truth & Reconciliation work, please make more equitable access to programs, please continue to diversify the community that enjoys this centre,” says Nicole. “It was that call from the community that really made us decide to go into the DEI audit process.”
Through the Listening Circles, we learned that the key to building an inclusive arts centre is a genuine commitment to connecting with diverse communities in the Bow Valley, to conversing with a variety of folks, to listening and responding to their needs.
“It’s important to remember that diversity, equity and inclusion is a practice, and we must keep working on it all the time,” notes Nicole. “We must keep learning, we must keep trying, we must keep letting go of old ideas and being open to new ones, we must stay humble and apologize and change sometimes, and I have faith in artsPlace’s ability to do that.”
“We are fortunate to go through this process with staff, board directors and community members who are really passionate about it,” adds Becky.
This is true of the Community Connectors artsPlace works with, as well. Folks who have supported artsPlace in this journey like Katarzyna Wroblewska, Noriko Ohsada, Travis Rider and Emmanuel De Silva naturally lean into leadership roles in their communities because they deeply care about the well-being of those around them.
Whether it’s organizing social gatherings, brainstorming ideas to provide better access to local services, leading organizations, volunteering on boards, or simply offering to help their fellow neighbors, they take care of their communities.
Through cultivating genuine partnerships, artsPlace has made a commitment to consult and co-design our future with the folks who have been involved in this process, and with community members who are yet to come our way.
“These relationship building initiatives really translate into more community accessing the community centre,” says Nicole.
