In this episode, we are speaking primarily about the challenges facing the arts sector and also the philanthropic sector more broadly, in addressing racial and other systemic inequities, in granting and beyond. Our guest, Jordan Baylon (they/she/he) is a queer, non-binary second-generation PhilipinX artist, critic and community worker imagining justice and abundance for equity-deserving peoples.
Jordan brings a decade of experience working as a grantor in the non-profit arts sector in Calgary and is currently the General Director of Chromatic Theatre, which is focused on supporting the incubation and amplification of racialized voices and stories within theatre. Jordan is also a proud associate of the Anti-Racist Organizational Change program at CommunityWise, and co-author of RE-Tool, a handbook on equity-driven grantmaking as part of Equity in the Panel Room working group.
Though not always easy to hear, we think you’ll appreciate Jordan naming some of the issues the sector faces, along with some steps that need to be taken, and a vision for the future. Have a listen.
Resources:
RE-Tool handbook: https://mapfundblog.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/re-tool-2018.pdf
CommunityWise Anti-Racist Organizational Change project: https://communitywise.net/aroc/
35 50 initiative: https://www.theatrealberta.com/2021/06/16/announcing-a-new-partnership-with-the-35-50-initiative/
COCo, White Supremacy Culture: https://coco-net.org/white-supremacy-culture-in-organizations/
COCo, The “Problem” Woman of Colour in the Workplace: https://coco-net.org/problem-woman-colour-nonprofit-organizations/
Eve Tuck, decolonizing: http://www.evetuck.com/bio
Edgar Villanueva, Decolonizing Wealth: https://decolonizingwealth.com
“gaslighting” definition: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gaslighting
Critical Race Theory: https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/subject_specific_writing/writing_in_literature/literary_theory_and_schools_of_criticism/critical_race_theory.html
Chromatic Theatre: https://chromatictheatre.ca
Eve Tuck’s article “Decolonization is not a metaphor”: https://jps.library.utoronto.ca/index.php/des/article/view/18630