Chicago Dancemakers Forum’s Anti-Racism Team (A.R.T.) 2021-2024

Note: This is a living document that can and will be updated yearly or more. 

Chicago Dancemakers Forum’s Anti-Racism Team (A.R.T.) is a malleable entity external to the operational structure of the organization. The group functions in a nonhierarchical, generative setting that supports collaborative flow, intersectionality, listening, and patience for process. 

We are grounded in a sense of trust. This trust requires a slower pace than the regular activities of the organization as well as protected time from CDF’s steady flow of production. Through honoring our collective ideas and capacities, we co-create a unique space that allows for contemplation and exploration from the basis of a settled nervous system. 

As a team, we convene monthly for two-hour sessions to discuss CDF through the lens of anti-racism work. We hold space for discussion, reflection, sharing and change. We identify areas for growth and development that arrive throughout the year. In between meetings, we may read articles on relevant topics and/or review CDF materials (e.g. documents, policies). The meetings provide a confidential place for CDF staff to share current issues and interests and to rely on support and critical feedback from team members, while simultaneously allowing room to reimagine CDF and its role in the global community. These values enable planning for cultural and structural shifts within the organization and as part of a larger arts ecosystem. 

Fundamentally, the A.R.T. is a meeting for reflection on questions and topics raised by the executive director and staff. The A.R.T. does not, at this time, prioritize executing recommendations or taking explicit action related to issues raised. Importantly, the A.R.T is not driven by institutional requirements nor pressure, which allows for frank and direct conversation. We all have different stakes in the conversation, but enter with equitable presence. 

The A.R.T. is currently comprised of the CDF executive director, a CDF staff member, a CDF board member, a former CDF consortium member, a former CDF intern, and a dance artist previously supported by CDF. Originally gathered in 2021 by the organization’s former executive director, current A.R.T. members are majority BIPOC and of that majority, are majority Black. The majority of A.R.T. members are uninvolved in the daily functions of the organization yet deeply invested in CDF’s work. Contracted A.R.T. members are paid hourly for their time and CDF staff A.R.T. members are paid through their salary. All A.R.T. members identify as artists in the field and are committed to anti-racism work in their personal and professional lives.