Arts Live Theatre DEI Committment

Making the Stage Shine Together

Arts Live Theatre is proud to be selected to participate in the 2020 True Northwest Arkansas program. TRUE Northwest Arkansas selected 20 organizations for the 2020 TRUE NWA “Train” cohort training program. The 2020 Train Cohort will work to build leaders for diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) through peer learning opportunities, coaching sessions with experts in the field and development of individualized DEI plans. In 2019, another group of 20 organizations made up the first TRUE NWA Train Cohort.

TRUE Northwest Arkansas is a three-year pilot initiative to Train, Report, Uplift, and Engage our community towards diversity and inclusion.

TRUE Northwest Arkansas is a program of the Arkansas Community Foundation, and is made possible with support from the Walmart Foundation and the Walton Family Foundation.

ARTS LIVE THEATRE DEI STATEMENT:

At Arts Live Theatre, we value children and youth, and we seek to foster a spirit of diversity, creativity, inclusivity, belonging, and equity. At ALT, our staff and students listen respectfully, speak honestly, and welcome all young people. We believe in the power of theatre to positively transform our performers, our audiences, and our community.

Arts Live Theatre is dedicated to ensuring equity and inclusion for all young people we serve. Our theatre is a safe, positive environment for youth, staff, and families of all races, religions, mental and physical abilities, ethnicities, sexual orientations, gender identities, and gender expressions. We practice a zero-tolerance policy for racism and discrimination, from our staff, students, and our guests. We commit to creating a space where all are physically and emotionally safe, included, respected, and nurtured as we help them develop the empathy, leadership, and theatrical skills that will support them now and into the future.

Arts Live Theatre encourages and celebrates diverse voices on the stage and behind the scenes. Discrimination, racial prejudice, and injustice are real and have an unacceptable impact on our community. As an organization, we acknowledge our responsibility to help combat the inequality faced by individuals based on race and other aspects of their identity. We commit to being advocates of anti-discrimination and anti-racism. We are intentionally partnering with diverse community organizations that are also fostering environments for inclusiveness for all. We continue to listen, learn, and grow. Together we will “make the stage shine.”

Revised and Adopted 10/25/2020

ARTS LIVE THEATRE NATIVE LAND STATEMENT:

Arts Live Theatre acknowledges and pays respect to the Osage, Caddo, and Quapaw people and elders past, present and future, offering deep gratitude to the ancestral land and natural resources that supports them. We also thank and acknowledge those Indigenous people who live and work in our community today. We hope that our work will honor the legacy Native people continue to build.