Arts Intranet

When I look into the future, my vision is a little blurry. The year 2020 caused me to reflect in a way I never have before. In a year of uncertainty, the last thing I would like to be is unsure of my path. My wariness mirrors my feelings towards the arts and culture field, which is my career focus. The arts are struggling as performance venues, museums, dance centers, and so many other large and small arts organizations closed their doors due to COVID. Not only do the arts have to navigate the current state of the world, but there is another issue that plagues the field, namely racial inequity. Along with the pandemic, the ongoing conversation of race and the treatment and lack of representation of African Americans in the arts and entertainment sectors came to the forefront. Unfortunately, the demand for equality is still prominent, after years and years of constant toil. As much as I put my chosen career path on a pedestal, the arts struggle with this issue as well, making it harder for Black people to excel to higher positions or step foot in the door at all. You would think that a field that relies so much on diversity, and champions itself on representing different ideals and backgrounds, would have more representation. The sad truth is that the arts are far behind in the race for equality, equity, and inclusion.

The 28th year of Americans for the Arts’ Diversity in Arts Leadership (DIAL) summer internship program was forced to shift gears due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Earlier this year we shared a blog post, “Re-envisioning Internships During COVID-19,” which provides a baseline understanding of where we started in our discussions and decision to continue the DIAL 2020 summer intern program during the pandemic. We discussed our plans and strategies of how we converted our program rooted in in-person, cohort-based work and activities, to an all virtual experience. As so many internship programs have been eliminated or transitioned during this time, we wanted to share the outcome of our re-envisioned virtual DIAL internship program: the challenges we faced, the successes we saw, and what we’ve learned. Though our virtual programming was different in many ways, one thing that did not change was its impact. All our interns stated that continuing the program through the global pandemic had a lasting impact on them. 

When you think of MBA coursework, you think of core classes in marketing, finance, economics, operations, decision sciences, strategy, and so on. You don’t think of color theory, collaborative drawing, or watercolors. But at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, we do. Unlike traditional business schools that collect and present art, we make it. In addition to core curriculum that encompasses fundamental business areas, for the past two years Kellogg has offered students an opportunity to participate in artist-led, hands-on workshops that focus on a variety of arts-themed topics. I attribute the success and popularity of these workshops to filling a much-needed void in MBA curriculum—one that stimulates the right brain, which supports creativity and intuition. Exercising these functions encourages important skills for aspiring business leaders. Interactions with art develop observation, collaboration, communication, narrative building, and critical thinking skills. They also emphasize empathic thinking, creative ideation, implicit bias awareness, and recognizing the nature of objectivity/neutrality. Leaders are made and trained, not necessarily born. Exercising empathy, knowing how to communicate effectively, and having the ability to think creatively through complex issues all help leaders manage effectively. 

This summer, 10 Diversity in Arts Leadership fellows from all over the country are convening to explore and build skills in arts administration and cultivate knowledge in cultural equity. For 28 years, Americans for the Arts has been hosting the DIAL internship program as an investment in a more equitable arts management field. This series features our DIAL cohort in two parts: five fellows are profiled here and in a previous post, five more! Read on to get to know Faith Lynn Diccion, Neaco Fox, Theresa-Xuan Bui, Faith Duncombe, and Elena Sánchez.

This summer, 10 Diversity in Arts Leadership fellows from all over the country are convening to explore and build skills in arts administration and cultivate knowledge in cultural equity. For 28 years, Americans for the Arts has been hosting the DIAL internship program as an investment in a more equitable arts management field. This series features our DIAL cohort in two parts: five fellows are profiled here and in a later post, five more! Read on to get to know Akilah Hartgrove, Ashley Betances, KeShawn Mellon, Cristal Seda Santiago, and Charis Shin. 

This summer, 12 Diversity in Arts Leadership interns from all over the country are working virtually with New York City-based arts nonprofits for ten weeks to explore and build skills in arts administration, and cultivate knowledge in cultural equity within the arts field. For 27 years, Americans for the Arts has been hosting the DIAL internship program as an investment in a more equitable arts management field. This series features our DIAL NYC cohort in two parts: six interns are profiled here and in a previous post, six more! Read on to get to know Isaiah Shaw, Nailah Williams, Noemi Mangual-Rosa, Rebekah Boggs, Kayla Colon, and Arlene Arevalo.