Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Resources for PVA

AIA's mission is to support artists who are womxn, BIPOC, and LGBTQQIA2S — all of whom are underrepresented individuals in creative industries who face additional barriers in their art. They seek to break down those barriers by awarding grants, curating exhibitions and screenings, and connecting artists with the decision-makers who can hire them.

Alternate ROOTS supports the creation and presentation of original art that is rooted in community, place, tradition or spirit. A group of artists and cultural organizers based in the United States seeking to create a better world together, the organization calls for social and economic justice and works to dismantle all forms of oppression – everywhere.

artEquity provides tools, resources, and training at the intersection of art and activism. With over 5,000 individuals trained, and a growing alumni community, artEquity is building a broad base of individuals and organizations who are strategically poised to create and sustain a culture of equity, inclusion, and justice through arts and culture.

The Art of Autism is an organization that seeks to empower and connect individuals within the autism community through participation in the arts, including visual arts, film, music, creative writing, and other forms of creative expression. It acknowledges autism as a human condition and strives to encourage community recognition and acceptance of autistic artists through the lens of their artistic visions.

The mission of AAPAC is to expand the perception of Asian American performers in order to increase their access to and representation in performance stages. The Coalition produces yearly reports on Asian American representation in theatre in addition to various initiatives to support performers.

The Black Theatre Network is comprised of artists, educators, scholars, students and theatre lovers who are dedicated to the exploration and preservation of the theatrical visions of the African Diaspora. For 30 years, the Black Theatre Network has collected, processed and distributed information that supports the professional and personal development of its membership (comprised of individuals engaged in the full range of theatre professions, professional and community theatres and organizations, and academic institutions).

This organization's mission statement is to fight for racial justice and equity by providing immediate resources, assistance, and amplification for BIPOC in the Broadway and Theatrical community at-large. In doing so, they help to create safe spaces throughout the theatre community for creativity and artistry to thrive.

A project of Chamber Music America, this list of diverse composers, including those of various ethnicities and genders, links directly to musicians and composers so that you can more easily explore their works.

The Consortium of Asian American Theaters & Artists envisions a strong and sustainable Asian American theater community that is an integral presence in national culture—evocative of the past, declarative of the present, and innovative towards the future. It provides resources to Asian American performers as well as information about historical events in the field.

Disability Arts International aims to promote the work of the unique generation of excellent disabled artists, disabled-led companies and inclusive arts organizations. It also aims to share the ways arts organiaations are increasing access to the arts for disabled people as audiences and visitors, and to connect disabled artists and companies with mainstream opportunities.

An organization that seeks to support disabled artists, giving them platforms, describing their practices, and making their art more available to the world. Created by and for and now led by disabled artists, it publishes work in the field as well as providing connections to disabled artists.

This arts and culture organization focuses its energy on creating public art events that cultivate and communicate a disability culture. It seeks to show that expressions of a disability cultural identity can transform society from awareness to understanding and eventually to belonging.

The Diversity Arts Network brings artists, arts organizations, theatres, museums, festivals, libraries, and community groups together to promote and celebrate diversity in the arts and community at large.

Donne is a charitable foundation in the UK that seeks to make a positive change in the fight against gender inequality within the music industry. Its main goal is to celebrate, advance, and amplify women in music so that they are seen, heard, and appreciated for their talent so they can leave a legacy of inspiration for future generations.

Feminist Art Coalition (FAC) is a platform for art projects informed by feminism and fosters collaborations between arts institutions that aim to make public their commitment to social justice and structural change. It seeks to elevate art by women and generate cultural awareness of feminist thought, experience, and action.

This organization uses Indigenous American cultural protocols and ways of looking at the world to guide theater and film making/writing. In addition to facilitating equitable connections between artists and Indigenous communities, the group also advises on program development to build bridges between organizations and Indigenous artists.

Indigenous Photograph is a space to elevate the work of Indigenous visual journalists and bring balance to the way we tell stories about Indigenous people and spaces. ITs mission is to support the media industry in hiring more Indigenous photographers to tell the stories of their communities and to reflect on how we tell these stories. Our global database is available to photo editors, creative directors, and those who routinely hire photographers.

The Institute for Composer Diversity works to encourage the discovery, study, and performance of music written by composers from underrepresented groups. It seeks to positively impact three important groups: the audiences and students who will engage with the music, the conductors, performers, and educators who serve to bring that music to those audiences and students, and the composers themselves. In addition to using their databases to find diverse composers and works, you can also take advantage of their publicly presented research data on diversity in the field, and even submit your own works to be included.

The International Association of Blacks in Dance (IABD) preserves and promotes dance by people of African ancestry or origin, and assists and increases opportunities for artists in advocacy, audience development, education, funding, networking, performance, philosophical dialogue, and touring.

The Joy-Jackson Initiative provides tools and resources for the American Theater industry to identify, reflect on, and improve their role in creating the safest, most welcoming spaces for members of the BIPOC community in the arts. It focuses on training programs to make theatres, critics, agents, directors, and other administrators more aware of and open to diversity in theatre spaces.

The Kassia Database is a resource geared toward aiding singers, instructors of voice, pianists, researchers, and music lovers to discover and celebrate art song by women composers. The database includes songs from the Baroque period through the 21st century, and have been categorized by level, voice type, language, composer, and composer dates. Related information includes range, tessitura, piano accompaniment, vocal line, and links to available scores.

This musical organization is made up of concert and marching bands from cities around the world and is dedicated to promoting music, supporting lesbian and gay bands, and stimulating public interest in band music in gay culture.

LARA is dedicated to increasing the visibility and appreciation of LGBT+ music, entertainment, and cultural heritage, with a focus of creating opportunities to support the development of young aspiring artists, in a safe space where they can thrive and become industry professionals in the field of their interest. In addition to the I Am Music project, which helps get homeless and at-risk youth access to the arts, it also maintains its own awards, the OUTMUSIC Awards, which recognize outstanding LGBT+ performers.

The intent of this project is to compile a list of pieces by composers who identify as members of the LGBTQ+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and additional gender/sexuality minorities) community and who have written works for band. This project will be treated as a working document and resource for conductors, educators, performers, and scholars interested in the music of LGBTQ+ band composers. This project is in progress and will be made freely publicly available when complete; in the meantime, it maintains a public list of LGBTQ+ composers and is still accepting submissions for more.

This index of thousands of women musicians and composers focuses mainly on women making various kinds of experimental/avant garde music. Some of these artists may also work within more mainstream forms, but they are included here because of their other work that is more challenging. The network also includes works by transgender and nonbinary individuals.

Music by Black Composers (MBC) was born from the realization that young musicians learning classical music seldom, if ever, have the opportunity to study and perform music written by Black composers, an omission that silences a rich vein of musical creation from global cultural consciousness. MBC maintains a database of composers and works as well as creating educational resources and bibliographies for further study.

The Music Inclusion Coalition strives to make the study of music more accessible and inclusive through advocacy, technology, and support as Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) and Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer (LGBTQ) students move from high school to the collegiate level so that they have opportunities to pursue music as a career.

Launched in the 2000s to support a generation of LGBTQ+ artists who lose mentors to the AIDS crisis, this organization seeks to foster the confident expression of LGBTQ+ artists’ perspectives, stories, and identities, and amplifies the voice of a population that has been historically suppressed, disenfranchised, and often overlooked by traditional institutional and economic support systems.

WomenArts is dedicated to increasing the visibility of women artists in all art forms. It shares news about trailblazing women artists and gender parity activists through its blog and social media and collaborates with various womens' organizations around the globe.