A Networked Infrastructure of Cultural Equity? Social Identities in the Missions of Local Arts Agencies

Abstract

Increasing attention to cultural equity in the arts focuses on the power of the arts to address social inequity. Many also recognize that arts organizations must attend to these issues in their organizational practices in order to promote equity and disrupt historic power structures. Local Arts Agencies’ (LAAs) structural position as key regranters of federal and local funds makes them a key site of inquiry into the sector’s approach to cultural equity. This research asks: How is attention to individual social identity dimensions of cultural equity patterned in mission statements of LAAs? Of the 55 LAAs analyzed, 26 have a mission statement that includes attention to cultural equity, and of these, 17 list specific social identity groups to which they attend. Empirically, the article presents network visualizations and tabled co-occurrences of social identities toward the goal of understanding the clustering of social identity in the missions of LAAs. This study contributes to understanding how LAAs are considering identity-specific dimensions of equity in the missions of their organizations, trends in the patterning of these priorities, and identify the structural underpinnings of cultural equity in institutional priorities among LAAs in the United States.