Diversity In Non-Profit Arts Organizations

Nowadays, to support social justice and foster progressive change is at the core of the mandates of many non-profit arts organizations. But what is social justice? The word “social” implies a group consciousness; “justice”, according to John Rawls, is “a fair and equitable distribution of resources with the imperative to address those who are least advantages.” In fact, arts non-profit can turn the social justice lens inward by increasing racial and ethnic diversity in the workforce composition. This means providing equal opportunity for everyone, especially in the less-favored minority groups, to pursue a career in the field.
The essay focuses on the racial and ethnic diversity in the intellectual and educational positions at art museums,

Professor Richard Sandell proposes a museum-specific model of diversity management. (appendix). He suggests that there is a dynamic interrelationship among its workforce, audiences, and museum programs: increasing diversity in the museum workforce can increase diversity in both service delivery and audience profile, therefore eliminating the perception of the organization as a “white space.” I want to add that, in this way, more people of color might be more willing to go and get the educational benefits of museum visitation. Fred Wilson, an African-American artist, curated an exhibition “Mining the Museum” in 1992 at the Maryland Historical Society, to offer an entirely new perspective on the museum’s collection and fight against social injustices. For example, he juxtaposed a pair of iron slave shackles with elegant silver vessels, highlighting the marginalized history of African American and increase the awareness of the diversity in Maryland community. The minority curator is able incorporate new points of view that makes minority audiences feel included, and thus achieving audience

First, add more people of color to the staff in intellectual and educational departments at the entry level. Specifically, networks can be built between museums and universities to attract more students into the museum career. For example, the Andrew Mellon foundation launched a pilot program of undergraduate curatorial fellowships in 2013, providing curatorial training at five museums for students from historically underrepresented minority groups. However, the volunteer work and internships are usually unpaid. This financial barrier continually pushes away those from the lower economic classes and contributes to the lack of workforce diversity. The Getty Foundation offers the Multicultural Undergraduate Internship program in Los Angeles, which is a paid summer internship for undergraduates from minority groups. Based on the evaluation from 2008, the program has had a positive impact on alumni’s career choices in museums and non-profit arts