“We will get through this together, love our community and our NIAD staff and artists” – Jason Powell Smith, quoted from a recent artwork made at Town Hall Meeting.
“Honor of My Ancestors” – Dre’An Cox, protest sign.
“It’s really important for those of us who are differently abled adults to support, respect, help with access, for others. We have a lot to offer.” – Halisi Noel-Johnson
This week, NIAD has made commitments.
In daily meetings, staff and artists commit to hear each other and respect lives lost to police violence.
While there are many different opinions in the group about how to reach these goals, we have committed as a community to the following:
NIAD remembers and honors those who have lost their lives to police violence, discrimination, and inequity.
NIAD commits to lift up voices of people of color, especially Black voices.
NIAD prioritizes funding and time for learning and training about Restorative and Transformative Justice.
NIAD will speak to legislators and those in power, bringing the voices of the community to those tasked with decision-making that affects us.
NIAD will not tolerate racism, and will work to transform it when it is identified.
NIAD must redefine our relationship with police. We will work to help imagine a future without police brutality, and alternatives to policing as it is funded and enacted today.
NIAD recognizes that this includes seeking respectful dialogue, with the police in Richmond and our neighbors.
This language, these ideas, are a work in progress: as Sister Corita Kent, one of NIAD’s guiding inspirations from 20th-Century art recommended, “There should be new rules next week.”However, our foundational commitment will not change, as NIAD’s Board Chair Antonia Dapena-Tretter affirmed: “This will inflect our strategic planning and how we guide the organization forward.”
We welcome dialogue with you, and your ideas, questions, and advice.
As a community, we commit to be accountable to one another.
In respect and hope,
Amanda Eicher, NIAD Art Center Executive Director