Please note that our Box Office is closed on Friday, March 29.

Equity, Diversity and Inclusion

Bard on the Beach operates on the ancestral lands of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səl̓ilwətaɁɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) peoples. We are grateful to live, work and connect on this incredible land.


BARD ON THE BEACH COMPANY COMMITMENTS

We are a Shakespeare Festival whose performance venue is located on Vanier Park/Sen̓áḵw, the site of a vibrant Coast Salish village which was the home of Indigenous nations for thousands of years. We take our responsibilities as occupants of this space seriously, and describe them as follows:

At Bard, we welcome people of:

  • all races
  • all religions
  • all countries of origin
  • all sexual orientations
  • all gender identities
  • all abilities and disabilities
  • all immigration statuses

In our office and work spaces, gathering places, stages, rehearsal halls and backstages, we are working towards addressing and combatting:

  • racism including but not limited to anti-Indigeneity, anti-Blackness and anti-Asianness
  • religious discrimination including but not limited to anti-Semitism and Islamophobia
  • xenophobia
  • homophobia and transphobia
  • sexism and misogyny
  • ableism

The responsibility to create and maintain this inclusive, accessible and anti-oppressive environment is shared by the Bard community, regardless of employment, seniority, job title or relationship to the company.

The above is not comprehensive; this is a living statement. We continue to be open to questions, feedback and dialogue.

History

Leadership Statements

JANUARY 20, 2021 UPDATE: Over the past seven months, our organization has invested a significant amount of time and resources to better understand how Equity, Diversity and Inclusion issues have impacted our Company, artists, audience members and staff. We’re providing this in-progress update today and will continue to bring you fresh information as our plans and projects develop further. [Read on]

VIEW ALL LEADERSHIP STATEMENTS

Accountability Timeline

  • March 2021: EDI webpage developed
  • January 20, 2021: Leadership Statement updated
  • January 2021: Staff & Board EDI working group formed
  • December 2020: EDI Bard Staff Book Club formed
  • November 2020: Internal Leadership Pledges created to encourage EDI values within the company (e.g. Executive Director’s Leadership Statement)
  • November 2020: Bard Company Commitments created
  • June 30, 2020: Leadership Statement updated
  • June to December 2020:
    • Weekly Meetings with Community Consultants Sereana Malani, Marci T. House, Christine Quintana, and EDI Working Group Claire Sakaki, Christopher Gaze, Rhea Shroff, and Dean Paul Gibson
    • Introduction to EDI for Boards led by Carol Liao and Shona McGlashan, given to Board of Directors
    • Review of public statements by April Sumter-Freitag (external consultant) with EDI Working Group
    • Community and Culture Foundational questions exercise, facilitated by Sereana Malani
    • Consultation with AdHoc Assembly’s Donna-Michelle St. Bernard, with Christine Quintana
    • Staff-wide introduction to Anti Discrimination Response training with Dr. Ishu Ishiyama
    • Mission/Vision/Values investigation (Part 1), facilitated by Jivesh Parasram with EDI Working GrouP
    • Consultation on Shakespeare Education with Nitasha Rajoo, with Education Department and EDI Working Group
    • Centering Coast Salish Sovereignty in Land Acknowledgments – staff-wide session facilitated by Christine Quintana, with video clip statements from Charlene Aleck / Ts’simtelot (Tsleil- Waututh), Tłakwasikan Khelsilem (Squamish), Christina Nahanee (Musqueam), and Irwin Oostindie (Dutch Settler).
    • Implicit Bias – staff-wide session facilitated by Christine Quintana, using Stanford’s Allyship and Anti-Racism module with video clip statement from Vernā Myers
    • Ongoing paid consultations with Bard Company members and Teaching Artists, led by Sereana Malani and Christine Quintana
    • Review of Respectful Workplace Policy by Sereana Malani, Marci T. House, and Christine Quintana
    • Creation of streamlined reporting policy by Marci T. House and Rhea Shroff
    • Creation of Anti-Oppression Response Framework by Christine Quintana
    • Weekly staff-wide open discussion sessions on Equity, Diversity and Inclusion
    • Discussion of integrating EDI values into leadership styles through Leadership Pledge, created by Christine Quintana and Dean Paul Gibson
    • Anti-Racist Theatre workshop with Nicole Brewer, taken by Sereana Malani and Christine Quintana
    • Staff-wide Anti-Oppression 101 presentation, facilitated by Sereana Malani and Christine Quintana
    • Implemented revised Board recruitment process to encourage diversity of board candidates
  • June 2020: Leadership Statement released and External Consultant Engaged

 

Bard Updates

Pieces that the company is working on
Working Group Committee updates
Policy Updates
Social Media Guidelines
Sponsorship/Membership Commitments

Resources

Blogs/vlogs
Articles
Book suggestions

Feedback

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