Providing Arts and Education for the Whole Community Statement on Diversity, Equity, Accessibility and Inclusion
The Sun Valley Museum of Art is actively working to serve our community through programs that reflect our commitment to diversity, our belief in the importance of equity, and our desire to be a place that is both accessible and inclusive. We seek to enrich our community through transformative arts and educational experiences with these values at the forefront of our programming and as filters for how we make decisions at the board and staff level. With the belief that the arts can transform the lives of individuals and communities, SVMoA enthusiastically takes on the work of implementing the values of DEAI at every level or the organization.
We recognize that we are at the beginning of a process that will be ongoing—one that will guide us as we shape a future that is welcoming to all. Our goal is that as SVMoA works to amplify a diversity of voices, those at every level of the organization—staff, board, audience, artist—feel valued for who they are as individuals and for the unique perspectives they bring to SVMoA.
As one of the leading arts organizations in the Wood River Valley and within the state of Idaho, SVMoA embraces the work of implementing the values of DEAI with the knowledge that we serve a largely rural state, and that we are located far from the nearest urban center. We exist in a county in which more than 30% of the population identifies as Hispanic/Latinx, a county with both Idaho’s highest per capita income and the state’s greatest economic inequality. We acknowledge that we live and work on the homelands of the Shoshone and Bannock peoples, and their use of these lands, past, present and future.
We undertake our path toward an SVMoA that reflects our commitment to diversity, equity, accessibility and inclusion through the following steps:
- Remaining self-reflective as we acknowledge our role in and our power to work to dismantle systems that allow discrimination and inequity to exist in our society
- Continuing our commitment to free museum admission and to offering as many of our programs as possible at low or no cost
- Using the values of DEAI as filters for developing programs as we seek to bring a diversity of artists to the Wood River Valley in order to serve a wide range of audiences
- Recognizing our responsibility for supporting the work of historically underrepresented artists, including those who are women, BIPOC and LGBTQIA+, and for sharing their work with our audiences
- Establishing goals for increased diversity and equity at the board and staff levels, creating a timeline for achieving those goals, and beginning the process of implementing them
- Developing practices aimed at recruiting and hiring a more diverse staff with a focus on where and how we advertise positions at SVMoA, establishing standards for equitable pay, and re-examining educational requirements for some positions
- Continuing our work with SVMoA’s Hispanic/Latinx Advisory Council to develop programs with the valley’s Spanish-speaking community, compensating the members of the council for their time and work
- Investing resources into expanded bilingual programming and communications with a goal of producing Spanish-language materials for all our programs
- Continuing to collaborate with indigenous artists and organizations and with organizations dedicated to environmental health and sustainability when producing projects that focus on the American West
- Seeking opportunities for partnerships and collaboration with organizations that will increase our reach in the community as we increase theirs, drawing on our neighbors’ expertise as we share ours
- Expanding our programming out into our community, beyond the walls of the Museum itself, to ensure we reach a geographically diverse audience, including those who live in neighboring rural counties
- Using our position as a trusted organization with a long history in the Wood River Valley to work alongside other local organizations to advocate for equity and inclusion for those who are marginalized in our community
- Evaluating our ability to serve those with disabilities and implementing aids to accessibility when possible
This process will be one of perpetual learning and experimentation. While we recognize that mistakes may be made, we will hold ourselves accountable and recommit ourselves toward a future in which the artists with whom we work and every member of our staff, board and audiences feel valued by and proud ownership of SVMoA.
