Every community owes its existence and vitality to generations from around the world who contributed their hopes, dreams, and energy to making the history that led to this moment. Some were brought here against their will, some were drawn to leave their distant homes in hope of a better life, and some have lived on this land for more generations than can be counted. Truth and acknowledgment are critical to building mutual respect and connection across all barriers of heritage and difference. We begin this effort to acknowledge what has been buried by honoring the truth. We are standing on the ancestral lands. We pay respects to the Elders and People of this land, past and present. Please take a moment to consider the many legacies of violence, displacement, migration, and settlement that bring us together here today. And, please join us in uncovering such truths at any and all public events.

Want to see or hear a great example?

In her opening remarks, Korina Emmerich, Puyallup, designer, and activist offers an exemplary reminder that Indigenous peoples are still here and present and we must actively fight against their erasure.

To learn more about the Native land you occupy and how to compose your unique land acknowledgement that is local to your community, we recommend this USDAC guide and this Native Land map. We also encourage you to reach out to your local Native and Indigenous communities for guidance on how to do this respectfully.

The GIA team always strives to create inclusive and accessible experiences for conference participants. It is critical that all keynotes, events, sessions, and workshops enable all individuals, including individuals with disabilities, to fully engage.

Real-Time Captioning (CART) in English will be available during keynote plenaries. American Sign Language (ASL) and Audio Translation from English to Spanish will be provided upon request.

To honor privacy and the safe space of our convening, only keynotes will be recorded and made available on GIA’s YouTube channel.

Accommodation requests can be completed during registration. If you have additional requests or did not make your accommodation requests during registration, email us at gia@giarts.org!

GIA will work with speakers, facilitators, and presenters to share best practices for creating accessible presentations and sessions.

Additionally, below are recommendations for how to prepare for the convening while supporting disability justice and language justice during the conference and beyond.

Throughout the convening:

When speaking, announce your name, share your pronouns, and consider describing yourself if using your camera. Some participants may be blind or have low vision and visual descriptors are essential.

Try to find a balance between muted and unmuted time in breakout sessions and roundtables. While background noise can sometimes be distracting, it can also be a cue for understanding, support, questioning, or other reactions to what is being discussed.

Speak loudly, clearly, and at a moderate pace so participants, captioners, and translators can hear you.

Be patient and avoid multiple people speaking at the same time.

Please feel free to check out these more comprehensive resources:

• Speakers Presenting to an Audience with Disabilities Best Practices

• Disability Etiquette from the World Institute on Disability

• GoToMeeting/GoToWebinar Setup and Accessibility

• Software-Assisted Accessibility Test for resilientcommunitiesforum.org

• Registration Language FAQ

• Panelist Tips for Zoom Webinars

Regardless of the type of space – in-person or virtual – when we gather in community questions of accountability or conflict can sometimes arise in our discussions and reflections of society, civic spaces, and the philanthropic field. Below we offer agreements to hold and uphold as we show up throughout the GIA Annual Conference to support community equity and wellbeing.

GIA is committed to addressing structural inequities and increasing philanthropic and government support for African, Latine, Asian, Arab, and Native American (ALAANA) artists and arts organizations. Our organization and our members do not tolerate racism, harassment, ageism, homophobia, sexism, transphobia, ableism, or prejudice based on ethnicity, nationality, class, gender, gender presentation, language ability, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, disability, body size, age, religion, color, ethnicity language, asylum status, or religious affiliation.

Be respectful to other attendees and presenters

Respect gender identities and identity parameters of groups or sessions when noted

Acknowledge intent and attend to impact

Check-in for clarity, certainty, context

Use the WAIT Rule: Why Am I Talking / Why Aren’t I Talking?

Be aware of your space, the positions and privileges you bring (racial, class, gender, etc.), and how these may affect others

Listen to understand; ask before assuming. Listen, process your thoughts and the message conveyed, and then ask what is unclear before jumping to conclusions. Commit to listening, commit to learn; this also applies when offering and receiving critical feedback.

Language is powerful

Be aware of the language you use in discussions and exchanges and how this relates to others. In discussions, raise your hand to speak, do not interrupt others

Do not use ableist and other harmful language. More can be learned from Self Defined.

Recognize the difference between identity-first and people-first language, especially when discussing disability. More information on this can be learned from Cara Liebowitz's “I am Disabled: On Identity-First Versus People-First Language,” from The Body is Not an Apology blog

Learn and enjoy!

We’re here for you. Default for direct contact instead of public callouts. For conference-related concerns, email gia@giarts.org or speak to a GIA team member.

GIA acknowledges and thanks the folks at Allied Media Conference, Daniel Lim Consulting, and ArtPlace America for inspiring the creation of these guidelines.

GIA, as a team and a community of peers, is committed to addressing structural inequities and increasing philanthropic and government support for African, Latine, Asian, Arab, and Native American (ALAANA) artists and arts organizations. Racial equity is a lens through which GIA aims to conduct all of its work, as well as a specific area of its programming. As you prepare for our first-ever Virtual Convening, please review this tip sheet to ensure equitable language and framing. As the contributors of this tip sheet offer, we believe it is necessary to explicitly decenter White Supremacy Culture and work toward a practice of community accountability where intention is acknowledged, and impact is attended to.

“In order to decenter Whiteness, we believe we need to create processes, structures, and practices that value relationships and relationship-building; engage the head, heart, and spirit; respect the diversity of ways people develop and express knowledge; and provide a space for participants to be their full, authentic selves. We believe that conferences should be accountable to the people and issues they address and the larger community within which they are located.”

As we gather in San Juan this November, the ancestral and unceeded lands of the Taíno and Boriken Taíno, we commit to honoring the same intentions held when we last gathered.

Ensure conference is responsible and accountable to the local community and larger social justice movements.

Create inclusive and equitable space.

Ensure that the topics and the ways they are framed reflect the leadership, interests, perspectives, and needs of people of color and other marginalized communities.

Provide options for multiple ways of learning and engaging.

Provide options for different areas of interest and depth of knowledge.

Consider how to be responsive to people’s cultural and physical needs as well as overall well-being.

Access how well the goals for decentering whiteness, and advancing equity and inclusion are being met.

This tip sheet was created by a multiracial, multinational working group of racial and social justice educators, organizers, scholars, researchers, and activists: Natasha Aruliah, Sonali Sangeeta Balajee, Shakti Butler, Bill Calhoun, Diane Goodman, Sally Leiderman, Emily Morrison, and Maggie Potapchuk. This group is engaged in ongoing work together, and with others, to develop a critical literacy to transform and heal from the legacy of Whiteness and colonization.

Grantmakers in the Arts has a long-held commitment to engaging the community in each city where the annual national conference is held. In planning and producing the GIA Conference, GIA employs a set of principles and practices which seek to create a positive impact for both conference participants and the local community. As with all GIA programs, the conference is also deeply informed by a commitment to racial equity in arts philanthropy. Read GIA’s Racial Equity in Arts Philanthropy Statement of Purpose and Recommendations for Action.

Local Planning Committee: In planning each conference, GIA enlists a committee of diverse arts funders who are from the local community. The conference committee informs and connects GIA to each region’s unique history and culture, helping to identify local artists, thought leaders, organizations, and other cultural assets to incorporate into the conference experience. The committee also reviews and helps select session proposals for the conference.

Local Voices & Expertise: GIA intentionally engages a diverse selection of local artists and thought leaders, including those from African, Latinx, Asian, Arab, and Native American (ALAANA) backgrounds, to share their expertise as plenary and keynote speakers and presenters. GIA also encourages session organizers, who are GIA members from across the country, to consider local artists and thought leaders to take part as panelists and presenters. Artists, performers, and other non-funder participants are always compensated for their time and expertise.

Connecting to the Local Arts Community: Conference attendees have the opportunity to learn about and interact with the culture of the local area through preconference sessions typically held outside of the hotel, guided cultural tours, dine-arounds at local restaurants, and off-site sessions hosted at local cultural institutions. Cultural venues are intentionally selected to represent diversity in art form, organization size, and neighborhood, and all venues are compensated for use of their space.

Supporting Local Business: GIA works with locally owned businesses and non-profits wherever feasible and especially prioritizes ALAANA-owned businesses. This may include hotels and other venues, catering, event support, transportation, audio/visual services, and more. GIA encourages conference attendees to support local restaurants, shops, and cultural destinations during their stay in the city.

Reducing Environmental Impact: To reduce waste, GIA does not offer a resource table for distribution of materials at the GIA Conference and does not provide conference tote bags or miscellaneous handouts. Conference programs and directories are made available digitally for conference attendees in addition to printed material. GIA also purchases carbon offsets to mitigate the environmental impact of conference-related travel for GIA staff.