Adrienne Arsht Center Participates In New BIPOC Executive Leadership In The Arts Program

Continuing its efforts toward greater diversity and equity in performing arts careers, the Arsht Center (@arshtcenter) is participating in a newly launched BIPOC Executive Leadership in the Arts Program as part of Live Arts Center of North America (LACNA).

This first-of-its-kind program helps to recognize and support the myriad qualified BIPOC arts professionals who are viable candidates for senior positions and strengthen their capacities to lead large cultural organizations into the future.

The Arsht Center is among 18 performing arts centers across the country that host Fellows as part of the residency-in-practice that is an integral part of the multi-faceted program. The Center recently hosted its first fellow Marisol Sánchez-Best, Director of Education and Community Engagement for Seattle Theatre Group (@STGpresents). Over the course of a week in Miami from October 18-20, the Arsht Center introduced her to many of Miami's arts leaders, including the Arsht Center's own senior leaders and directors at other cultural institutions throughout the city.

"The Arsht Center's commitment to diversity and inclusion is in its DNA. Together with our fellow arts institutions, we can ensure that the most talented professionals have a network and a pathway to become leaders of cultural organizations around the country and the world," said Johann Zietsman, Arsht Center President and CEO.

"Being in Miami, and having the Arsht Center host me through this BIPOC Executive Leadership program, provided me with an invaluable experience. I left feeling inspired and humbled by the people and the sharing from Johann Zietsman, the Board of Trustees, community arts leaders and staff," said Sánchez-Best.

In addition to nurturing mid-career professionals through this program, the Arsht Center expands opportunities for those early in their arts careers through a year-round paid Arsht Interns program and a Technical Theatre Apprentice Program created especially for young people from diverse backgrounds and underrepresented communities.

Responding to the challenges of structural racism in performing arts institutions across the U.S. and Canada, Live Arts Centers of North America (LACNA), a coalition of more than 50 of the largest performing arts centers in both countries, and the LACNA Foundation launched the BIPOC Executive Leadership in the Arts Program in early 2022.

Supported by AMS Planning & Research Corporation, NAS, and Stanford University, this program is designed to accelerate the development of management and leadership skills among qualified mid-career BIPOC professionals and provide them with greater access to pursue executive positions in the two nations' most significant cultural institutions.

According to the LACNA Foundation, while 53% of principal administrators of major performing arts centers are female, only 7% of the leaders of these arts organizations are BIPOC, and only 16% of the leadership teams of these organizations include BIPOC representation. The BIPOC Executive Leadership in the Arts Program tackles this challenge head-on as a statement of commitment from these organizations to change their cultures and to diversify their leadership. Applications for the next class of Fellows are open now through November 4. To learn more, visit LACNA here.