Arts and Culture Diversity Leadership Initiative

In order to remain vibrant, vital, and viable, arts and culture organizations must appeal to, engage, and nurture an ever-broadening audience of diverse stakeholders. Leaders of these organizations must become culturally
competent agents of transformation working to make the principles of diversity and inclusion transparent throughout all operational areas and levels of their organization (board, staff members, volunteers, donors, and patrons).

NMCI’s Arts and Culture Diversity Leadership Initiative provides the awareness, knowledge, and skills to help leaders transform their organizations into exemplars of inclusive artistic experiences.

Emphasizing a systemic approach where efforts to align policies, systems, and organizational culture lead to sustainable change and continuous growth, the program uses an Appreciative Inquiry approach to provide a framework for thinking critically and strategically about diversity and its potential for strengthening the field of arts and culture. It also explores the multidimensional nature of diversity and its implications from multiple perspectives, including board and staff development, donor cultivation, public participation and audience development, and program/production design and implementation.