Our mission is to create an internationally renowned festival in New Haven of the highest quality, with world-class artists, thinkers and leaders, attracting and engaging a broad and diverse audience, celebrating and building community, and advancing economic development. 

We respectfully acknowledge that we live, work and play on the unceded lands of the Quinnipiac. While we honor the culture and history of these nations, we also acknowledge that Native people are contemporary artists, writers, scholars, neighbors, and relatives with whom we must be in relationship to live our values fully. Visit native-land.ca/ to learn more.

We acknowledge that the work of racial and cultural equity in the arts is active work. We commit to acknowledging missteps, to reviewing and changing policies, to actively diversifying our board and staff, and to empowering and supporting the leadership of Black and Brown colleagues. We will partner with artists in the global majority to create spaces of truth, joy, and connection.

In July 2020, the Festival signed onto Together New Haven’s Arts for Anti-Racism Pledge, an initiative by the City of New Haven’s Department of Arts, Culture, and Tourism to “amplify voices of BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) in arts and cultural organizations.” In order to become more anti-racist, the Festival pledges to make these changes: 

• CULTURE: To change our internal culture to one that actively amplifies BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) voices, encourages open and productive discourse on race and racism, and is aware of and addresses racism when it happens. 

• SOCIAL JUSTICE: To acknowledge that there are diverse communities which have been untapped by our organization; and to actively counter this by seeking out and providing a space for art focused on cultural pride, racial justice, civil rights, and other issues which are important and relevant to BIPOC communities. 

• POLICY & PRACTICE: To review our policies to identify and dismantle any unjust policies and practices that create barriers for BIPOC; this involves respect for BIPOC, recruiting, promoting, and empowering BIPOC for leadership roles in the body responsible for organizational oversight (i.e. board of directors), and committing to a JEDI statement (Justice, Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion) around which to build policy and programming. 

• ART: To acknowledge the barriers that have led to BIPOC artists being vastly underrepresented in the arts; and to actively counter this by employing and presenting work(s) by more BIPOC artists. 

• ACCESSIBILITY: To offer programming that is more accessible to BIPOC, which may include adjusting ticket and/or admission price, format, schedule, and/or venue, in addition to content. 

• PARTICIPATE: To change our mentality from doing for the community to partnering with the community; this involves offering more “participatory” programming that directly involves diverse community members and allows them an interactive role in artistic and cultural activities. 

• HISTORY: To research and be aware of the historical and social context of the programming and the impact it may have on BIPOC communities; and to let this research and awareness inform programmatic decision-making.

Learn More About the Pledge »

For the latest updates on our commitments, please view Reports & Financials

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