A Place to be Heard; a Space to Feel Held

This report seeks to understand how arts and culture organizations can better serve Black communities and nurture their involvement in arts and culture. 

It was issued as part of a national initiative to bridge the cultural sector to the experiences and needs of communities during the Covid pandemic and beyond. The researchers aim to create a picture of how Black Americans participate in arts and culture. They also suggest ways arts and culture organizations can be more welcoming to Black Americans.

The researchers carried out phone and online interviews with 50 Black Americans. The research team acknowledges that the view of this group cannot represent the full spectrum of attitudes among Black Americans across the country. But they did find common threads that suggest the importance of four key practices for arts and culture organizations seeking to create a more positive environment for Black audiences:

• Celebrating personal and community creativity
• Supporting self-care
• Working to be more trustworthy
• Creating a sense of welcome and belonging.

Understanding these practices could help arts organizations build stronger relationships with Black communities, the researchers suggest. They recommend that organizations challenge themselves to:

• Focus on the personal relationships created by arts experiences
• Provide fuller depictions of Black humanity by offering artistic expressions of Black joy, innovation, leisure, and brilliance
• Expand the definition of creativity to include moments of “everyday creativity”—recognizing that all kinds of arts are important
• Earn trust and build credibility with the Black community by offering consistent support when the community has urgent needs 
• Be welcoming through small acts of kindness and letting people express themselves authentically.