MPAC is a group of local artists with the intent of promoting collaboration, inclusiveness, knowledge sharing, and moving the Memphis performing arts community forward. We love our city, and believe the community of artists in Memphis is one of its most valuable assets.
Memphis Performing Arts Summit: Cultivating Equity In the Performing Arts, with Kaisha S.Johnson*, is the first event supporting the Fair Play Initiative, a community effort organized by the newly-formed Memphis Performing Arts Coalition (MPAC). For this unique summit, Memphis will welcome nationally recognized facilitator Kaisha S. Johnson, Co-Founder and Founding Director of Women of Color in the Arts, a national service organization dedicated to creating racial and cultural equity in the performing arts field. Ms. Johnson will focus on equity, diversity, and inclusion in the arts in this training, which MPAC is offering free of charge for a limited number of participants.
MPAC’s highest priority for this summit is accessibility for those who wish to participate. We are a volunteer collective of artists and we need your help to make this happen. Donations of any amount are welcome to support the Weekend of Action, an important step toward fostering safety and equity for all members of the Memphis performing arts community.
Recent important conversations about the #metoo movement and racial equity have a common thread: a belief that we could do better if we had the proper tools.
We want to:
Harness this energy into a space of solidarity, healing, and action; Change the mindset of “I just thought this is how things go” and “I didn’t say anything because I didn’t want to lose future work”; Provide the community with tools to help address challenges and foster safe creative spaces where artists feel supported and empowered; and Most importantly, lead by example for the thousands of young people in our city who participate in performing arts training every year. This next generation of Memphis artists deserves to create in an environment free from harassment, oppression, bullying, and gatekeeping.
Our goal is to harness our energy and engender a community of learning and sharing with a weekend of community action and professional development at Caritas Village in Memphis, TN.
Friday April 5th, 5:30-8:30- Meet, Greet, Eat with fellow summit goers and Kaisha. Children welcome!
Saturday April 6th and Sunday April 7th, 9am-4pm- Same schedule and training both days, limited to 40 attendees per day. Pick one! with delicious lunch at Caritas Village (lunch prices range from $5-$10)
We need your help to make this happen! All contributions, of any amount, are helpful. In order to dive deep into this important work, we need supporters like you to make a donation today.
Here is what your donation pays for:
TCB: up to $75 Any donation at this level will help us begin to take care of business! You can help us cover expenses supplies such as water, sticky notes, markers, and much more.
Here’s what else your donation can cover:
$10: No gift is too small. This will help us learn about microaggressions and how to address them in our work! $25: Your donation will help us introduce our community to the practice of Native American land acknowledgements before performances. $50: Your donation will help us understand the language around systemic bias. Now we know about intersectionality and the difference between racial and gender oppression, and can begin unpacking how this affects our work! $75: Sometimes we make mistakes, and that’s ok! Your donation will help us gain knowledge on how to work through situations when we mess up.
GRIT N GRIND:$100-$500 You’ll help us get into the grit of the matter. We’ll also be able to house our facilitator for the weekend, cover other production costs, and support marketing for our event. Other things your donation can help with:
$100: You’ll help a group of artists understand the complexity of appropriation and the messages it sends to the community. $250: Raise the consciousness of an institution or a small company to hire a team that reflects the community we live in! $500: Your donation will help team of a emerging directors and choreographers understand the concepts of consent, intimacy, and open communication about the message of the show in context with the cast, crew, and community.
MEMPHIS AS FCK:$1,000 to $5,000 WOW! YOU ARE SO AMAZING TO HELP US THIS WAY!!!! YOU ARE MEMPHIS AS FCK and if you like we’ll plaster your name all over this thing!
$1,000: You will help us explore the possibilities of programming powerful work by artists, playwrights, dance companies, that reflect the community we live in. $2,500: With your donation, you will get us halfway to our goal! We’ll be able to achieve our goal of offering support to all above initiatives that much faster.
Learn More: http://memphispac.org