Equality & Diversity Action Plan
Below we set out our agreed actions over the period 2022-2026, to help realize our aspirations as set out in our Equalities and Inclusion Statement (appendix) and in line with the Let’s Create! outcomes and investment principles.
Priority actions in 2022-23
1) Making improvements to access & inclusion through our ACE-funded capital works (improved accessible toilet & gender-neutral toilets, plus access aids for disabled artists & members of staff), while also making disabled access improvements to the public realm boundary at the front of the building with Heritage Action Zone funding from Historic England.
2) In our programme, foregrounding work by artists from historically excluded or marginalised groups; particularly people of colour, queer people, D/deaf and disabled people & working-class people.
(This is reflected in our current programming e.g. Commons Festival, Platinum Jubilee Event, CREW and ongoing diverse Drag & Ballroom strands).
3) Carrying out inclusion training for all staff and volunteers (currently under way)
4) Using our role as one of the three main Culture hubs for Croydon’s year as London Borough of Culture (& Heritage and LGBTQ+ lead) to reach new diverse audiences and artists from across the borough.
5) Appointing a new diverse/Global Majority Chair.
6) Establishing a Diversity & Inclusion subgroup of the Board.
7) Developing a marketing & audience development plan focused on understanding the modes of cultural expression & artistic interests of local people from communities who tend not to engage with funded culture.
8) Providing work experience for people from under-represented communities (this has begun, but will expand significantly in the coming years).
Actions for 2023-4 and later
1) Continue to foreground work by artists from historically excluded or marginalised groups, particularly people of colour, queer people, D/deaf and disabled people & working class people , including the confirmed LGBTQ+ artists development strand for Croydon’s year as London Borough of Culture (LBoC), and a planned collaboration with the Place on a new dance work that foregrounds trans experience for LBoC, and many more.
2) Delivering responsive development support to professional & emerging artists, targeting under-represented communities, working with partners across the Croydon cultural network, including the Brit School, CMA and others.
3) Developing an offer of free rehearsal space for queer people of colour & Global Majority people.
4) Delivering training for senior management & Board members on anti-racist hiring, countering unconscious-bias, and on tactics for reaching a broader range of applicants for jobs through diverse communications.
5) Drawing together a Talent Advisory Group to support the Venue Director in diverse programming.
6) Adopting an evaluation system that manages to capture (sensitively & accurately) audience & user diversity; possibly using the system created in collaboration with Audience Finder for LBoC.
7) Incorporating questions on inclusion & workplace barriers into staff feedback systems & opportunities.
8) Achieving an average of at least 50% of our audiences & leadership coming from communities of colour by 2025-6 (currently c. 40%), with a representatively high % also of visitors and artists etc with disabilities.
