From #OscarsSoWhite to #parityraid, discussions of who is represented on our stages and our walls, within our organizations, on our boards, and in our field, abound. Our state of California has a rapidly changing demographic, our country has a growing problem with economic inequality, and we have research from as late as 2005 showing that seventy percent of 400+ arts organizations responding to a survey said that racial or ethnic diversity is “not at all” or “not too important” in the selection of new board members. What role should arts organizations play in this landscape?

As our grantee-partners in the New California Arts Fund are moving arts engagement to the core of who they are and what they do, they’re focused on evolving their approach to everything from audience development to board leadership and governance. While inclusive representation is just one component of a strong board, there are significant hurdles to overcome–logistic, strategic, and perceptual. We spoke with eleven of the senior leaders and board members from four arts organizations participating in the New California Arts Fund to get their advice on how to overcome some common hurdles and why it’s worth diversifying your board.

During that process, Michael Garcés, Artistic Director of Cornerstone Theater Company asked (and answered), “What does it mean to have a commitment to diversity? It’s something that’s long-term and constantly interrogated, it’s never going to be ‘solved.’ It’s something we practice, just like the art form. You have to get over a discomfort with that.”

I’m looking forward to an engaging dialogue with the field, even if it surfaces some discomfort. I know the pay off for making ourselves uncomfortable with the status quo is that our learning will go deeper and we’ll be closer to making change. If you haven’t started practicing already, or feel like you need to brush up on a few skills, I hope this resource compels you to take a tangible next step today.

This is the second in a series of stories we’re hosting on Medium to share what the arts field is learning from experimenting with new forms of engagement with new audiences. The first, “Tough Questions We Get Asked About Engagement Practices and Programming in the Arts,” we highlighted in a previous blog.