Collaborating Consultant Miranda González talks with Chicago Reader’s Kerry Reid about Cultural Triage and BIPOC arts organizations.

“…The shift or radical thinking portion of that is to find the organizations that are already working with the BIPOC communities and acting like a fiscal sponsor and a champion for them. That's centering the community."

-Miranda González of UrbanTheater Company on what 'cultural triage' means for BIPOC theaters, Kerry Reid, Chicago Reader

“It is time to redefine organizational models and maintain clear decision making rather than remaining reactive and losing the perspective necessary to think with thoroughness and care.”

Cultural Triage is a document for foundation, civic and arts leaders discussing the immediate need within the arts community. In an effort to meet the moment of Coronavirus' impact on arts organizations, we have composed and proposed new ways of strategic thinking. This centers on models of operations that focus on community driven planning for arts and culture establishments and the reimagining of conventional structures and processes. In Cultural Triage, we propose a grounded method of assessment that encourages mergers, partnerships, transformative leadership and innovative organizational collaborations, and calls for the community to honor and celebrate organizations as they are faced with sunsetting their operations. Through community-based strategic leadership, we can keep our creative institutions alive.

 “...the plain truth is that there is currently no basis for anyone to claim certainty about the impacts to come, except to this extent: they will be significant, they will be far-reaching, and they will be long-lasting.”

In her essay, Miranda González names the differences between the needs of PWIs (predominantly white institutions) and BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, people of color) when it comes to the nuances of Triage and foundational support for arts organization strategic plan development.

“Miranda González, producing artistic director of UrbanTheater Company in Humboldt Park, created at Loevner's invitation (he is on the board of UTC) a ‘direct call to action’ that focuses on the role of BIPOC cultural institutions. In her paper, González points out that these institutions ‘have historically resided in the communities that represent them. The Harlem renaissance, Chicago Black renaissance, Chicano Art Movement, began out of the necessity to preserve and reflect the voices of our neighborhoods. We know we are essential to the arts ecosystem. Piloting new paradigms during a crisis is our history.’”
- “Post-pandemic, will we see triage for the arts?,“ Kerry Reid, Chicago Reader

Take Action

Cultural Triage: Take Action offers five different models of operations:
The Adoption, The Studio, The Incubator, The Local, and The Co-Op.

Each serves as an alternative to current structures, prioritizing resource sharing, equitability, and
common good.

What can BLVE do to help?

As we work to build energy around Cultural Triage, gaining the support of foundations and arts leaders, BLVE plays the role of mediator. Adapting to the nuance of the times, we are working towards building support to then create the work that needs to be done in this grand experiment. We are seeking out willing organizations that desire to make change on a big scale. We will then craft a plan and execution strategy to implement these new models and ways of thinking.