Via Fractured Atlas Anti-Racism and Anti-Oppression Community Guidelines:

Anti-Racism and Anti-Oppression Community Guidelines

Fractured Atlas Mission Statement

Fractured Atlas empowers artists, arts organizations, and other cultural sector stakeholders by eliminating practical barriers to artistic expression, so as to foster a more agile and resilient cultural ecosystem.

Definitions

For the purpose of this Policy, Fractured Atlas uses the following definitions:

• Discrimination is the treatment or consideration based on class or category rather than individual merit. It can be used to privilege (special treatment in favor of) as well as disadvantage (special treatment against) a particular group or individual.
• Oppression is the use of power or privilege by a socially, politically, economically, or culturally dominant group (or groups) to disempower (take away or reduce power), marginalize, silence or otherwise subordinate one social group or category.
• Systemic Oppression consists of practices, policies, laws and standards that disadvantage a particular group or category of people.
• Individual Oppression is demeaning and oppressive behavior towards and treatment of a particular group or category of people, expressed through individual attitudes, beliefs and values.
• Anti-Oppression is the work of actively challenging and removing oppression perpetuated by power inequalities in society, both systemic oppression and individual expressions of oppression.

POLICY STATEMENT

Fractured Atlas’s membership includes individual artists — performing, visual, literary, design, media, and everything in between — and arts organizations — from one-person outfits to the biggest of the big. Many individuals, including Fractured Atlas members, face practical barriers and oppressive experiences because of individual and systemic unequal power related to race, ability, age, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, and immigration status. Since Fractured Atlas is a reflection of the society in which we live, these uses of power will inevitably exist within Fractured Atlas as well.

Discrimination and oppression can prevent people from engaging with Fractured Atlas in a way that fully reflects their ability, experience and contributions. We recognize that understanding, acknowledging and working to eliminate oppression is a learning process for us all. Different people can be at different stages in the learning process, and we all need to create opportunities for learning and assist each other in the learning process.

Finally, Fractured Atlas recognizes that individuals and groups who experience discrimination have the capacity to make choices and act on their own behalf to bring about change that will dismantle systems of oppression for themselves and others.

FRACTURED ATLAS’S COMMITMENT

We are committed to anti-oppression principles in all areas of our internal and external work. This commitment is grounded in our belief that change is possible, and that our work and that of the artistic community as a whole will grow stronger as oppression is eliminated.

Fractured Atlas will therefore ensure that its work accurately reflects and uses the variety of knowledge of all peoples as the basis for all of our activities; that it recognizes the leadership of disenfranchised and oppressed individuals and groups to bring about anti-oppressive change; and that it acknowledges the existence of discrimination and makes a conscious effort to challenge oppression.

Fractured Atlas will work to ensure that:

• The membership of Fractured Atlas accurately reflects the vibrancy of the arts community and our society as a whole;
• Fractured Atlas’s products are developed in an accessible way, so that our members can utilized them in a manner free from obstacles, barriers and oppression;
• Fractured Atlas’s networking, information sharing, and strategy consultations are informed by the goal of identifying and countering the impact of the various and combined forms of oppression affecting our membership;
• Fractured Atlas’s advocacy work with government, and communications with the media and the public address the diverse and combined forms of oppression facing our diverse membership, and offer practical solutions to eliminate this oppression.
• Our capacity and the capacity of our membership is strengthened to challenge unequal power and biases that lead to oppression;
• We strengthen our capacity and the capacity of our membership to develop individual leadership and advocacy potential;
• Fractured Atlas has an effective process for resolving concerns and complaints that may arise from members’ experience of unfair, inequitable or oppressive treatment within Fractured Atlas;
• A process is put into place to develop policies and practices that promote anti-oppression, and to implement, periodically review and improve such policies and practices where necessary.

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