We approach this ongoing labor with an intersectional lens, non-hierarchical forms of leadership, and readiness to redistribute resources, space, creative agency, and power.

We are grateful to the artists and activists in our midst who have been continually engaged in racial justice and decolonization work, and pledge to continue it with you. In the spirit of accountability, we offer the following articulation of our values and the concrete steps we are taking towards greater equity. This language will be updated periodically, including after we develop a full equity statement/plan.

In progress

Staff: Two of Red Eye’s seven new Artistic Directors are artists of color. 

Board: To date, we have added two BIPOC members to our Board of Directors, and are strongly prioritizing equity and representation as we approach board recruitment going forward.

Advisors: We have engaged a paid Artistic Advisory Committee of respected local artists, many of whom have identities not currently represented among Red Eye’s Artistic Directors or Board. This group includes includes artists of color, artists with disabilities, an Indigenous artist, as well as greater age diversity. This group provided feedback on our 2020-2023 strategic plan, and we will continue to engage their expertise over that period.

Programming: All Works-in-Progress and Isolated Acts cohorts curated by Red Eye’s new leadership to date have featured majority BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ lead artists.

Marketing: We are updating Red Eye’s digital platforms and communications strategies to ensure they are fully accessible. 

Learning and planning: We have begun an equity, diversity, and inclusion consultation process with Sun Yung Shin; through this we will create Red Eye’s first EDI plan. We commit to continually engage in this process long-term and build a stronger and increasingly equitable Twin Cities artist community.

Budget: We have earmarked 5% of Red Eye’s annual budget for equity-related initiatives, and increased our budget allocations for accommodations for artists and audiences with disabilities.

Looking forward

Space: As Red Eye builds a new performance venue to serve as the organization’s long-term home, we will apply principles of universal design to ensure the space is fully accessible and hospitable to all artists and audiences, and invest in equipment and infrastructure that supports the participation of artists and audiences with disabilities. 

Financial accountability: We will continually assess our values and practices around finances, toward being conscientious about funding sources, budgeting processes, compensation of different kinds of labor, etc. 

• Budget transparency: We are considering how we might practice budget transparency and establish more ethical norms around money in our field. 

• Artist compensation: We have committed to increasing artist fees over time, to actively value artists’ labor. 

• Redistribution of wealth: We are exploring how we might redistribute wealth to Black and indigenous communities, in the forms of partnerships with neighborhood organizations, in-kind and financial donations, mutual aid, reparations, etc. 

Feedback protocol: We will engage in critical conversations around Red Eye’s signature feedback protocols, examine the cultural biases and white lenses they contain, and revise both our facilitation practices and the protocols themselves to better support the work of BIPOC artists, encourage agency and subjective awareness of all participants, and promote rigorous discussion in our field. 

Curatorial process: We will develop an equity-centered curatorial process that promotes transparency, breaks down the traditional hierarchies between artists and institutions, and prioritizes building mutual relationships with artists with disabilities.

Succession planning: We will consider a long-term plan for future staff and board changes at Red Eye, to move away from majority white leadership and create leadership positions for artists/administrators/leaders of color and with disabilities.