Our Commitment
By employing an anti-racist/anti-ableist framework, Baltimore Clayworks (BCW) affirms the gifts of all artists to harness the power of clay. We acknowledge the systemic inequity that exists in the nonprofit arts world we inhabit. BCW opposes injustice that limits access of BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) peoples, individuals with disabilities, and all creatives who are underrepresented and devalued in the world of art.
As a community arts hub, we believe that art and arts education are central to the healing process of our city. The multicultural and universal medium of clay is one of Baltimore Clayworks’ greatest attributes in connecting and celebrating all people.
As artists, our mistakes often become unexpected gateways to discovering our truth. Likewise, as an art community, BCW seeks to examine past wrongs and to redress inequities in order to more fully realize our core values. Together with our Board of Directors, staff, resident and teaching artists, students, and extended Baltimore family, we commit not only to forging clay artworks, but to taking action to create the best expression of the DEAI ideals of Baltimore Clayworks.
Articles and Videos Resources
The National Council of Nonprofits: Why Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Matter for Nonprofits
VOCA Journal: In Issue 10 of VoCA Journal (Voices in Contemporary Art), voices from many corners of the art world come together to discuss access and the arts. https://journal.voca.network/
The Color Network: The Color Network’s mission is to aid in the advancement of people of color in the ceramic arts. We aim to assist artists develop, network, and create dialogue while maintaining a place for a database, resources, and mentorship. We hope to foster a community of artists of all professional and skill levels that help each other grow. https://www.thecolornetwork.org/
Debunking The Most Common Myths White People Tell About Race:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wjHg65JORi8
How to Be an Antiracist. Ibram X. Kendi says:“Definitions anchor us in principles. This is not a light point: If we don’t do the basic work of defining the kind of people we want to be in language that is stable and consistent, we can’t work toward stable, consistent goals.”
https://www.penguin.co.uk/articles/2020/june/ibram-x-kendi-definition-of-antiracist.html.
The Racial Equity Framework from Artist Trust, Washington State:
https://artisttrust.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/2020-RE-FRAMEWORK-DRAFT6.pdf
Racial Equity Tools: Offers tools, curricula, and information to help increase an understanding of racial justice at every level – in systems, organizations, communities and culture: https://www.racialequitytools.org/
“Seeing White” Podcast on Scene On Radio: All 14 episodes and their audio are available on this site. This podcast is also available on all podcast platforms. https://www.sceneonradio.org/seeing-white/
“Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack” by Peggy McIntosh: https://www.racialequitytools.org/resourcefiles/mcintosh.pdf
Article- We saw important social activism last year. Here’s how to maintain it in 2021:
https://www.thelily.com/we-saw-important-social-activism-last-year-heres-how-we-can-all-maintain-it-in-2021/
Why It’s So Hard to Talk to White People About Racism- Dr. Robin DiAngelo explains why white people implode when talking about race: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/why-its-so-hard-to-talk-to-white-people-about-racism_b_718371
Learning for Justice: https://www.learningforjustice.org/
Ella’s Song- Resistance Revival Chorus: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aYmaOzaGI-Q&ab_channel=ResistanceRevivalChorus
Ten Ways to Have a Better Conversation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R1vskiVDwl4
We welcome dialogue, including your feedback and dreams. Please feel free to contact us via email at deai@baltimoreclayworks.org and phone at (410) 578-1919.