About MORRIS Arts

(As of July 25, 2025)

Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, Accessibility, and Belonging

Morris Arts is committed to assisting the Morris County arts community become more equitable, inclusive, and accessible for all.

Individuals who have questions or need assistance should contact ADA Coordinator, Dominique Tornabe via email at dtornabe@morrisarts.org. If requesting accommodations for an event or program, please reach out at least 14 days prior to ensure appropriate arrangements.

Cultural Equity Policy

Cultural equity embodies the values, policies, and practices that ensure that all people—including but not limited to those who have been historically underrepresented based on race/ethnicity, age, disability, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, socioeconomic status, geography, citizenship status, or religion—are represented in the development of arts policy; the support of artists; the nurturing of accessible, thriving venues for expression; and the fair distribution of programmatic, financial, and informational resources.

Acknowledgements & Affirmations

• There are systems of power that grant privilege and access unequally such that inequity and injustice result, and that must be continuously addressed and changed.
• Cultural equity is critical to the long-term viability of the arts sector.
• We must all hold ourselves accountable, because acknowledging and challenging the inequities in our community and working in partnership is how we will make change happen.
• Everyone deserves access to a full, vibrant creative life, which is essential to a healthy and democratic society.
• The prominent presence of artists challenges inequities and encourages alternatives.

Morris Arts’ Statement on Cultural Equity

To support a full creative life for all, within its mission of building community through the arts, Morris Arts commits to enact policies and practices of cultural equity that empower a just, inclusive, equitable community.

Morris Arts is committed to working with the arts and cultural community to cultivate an environment that serves, celebrates, and values every member of our community. We envision a community where engagement in the arts is not pre-determined by socio-economic status, race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, or disability. We see a robust and successful arts and cultural community where:

• All artists, creative workers, audiences, and students have full access to the robust creative arts resources of our community and in which their varied histories, voices, and life experiences are honored.
• Equitable access to arts funding and programs for all arts organizations and artists is expected and delivered.
• Such funding and programs unite arts organizations and artists with diverse populations in our community to nurture a community where every resident sees themselves as belonging, learning, and participating in the arts.

We believe these closely held tenets will sustain a full creative life for all.

Modeling Through Action

To provide informed, authentic leadership for cultural equity, we strive to…

• Build cultural competency throughout our organization through substantive learning and formal, transparent policies.
• Acknowledge and dismantle any inequities within our policies, systems, programs, and services, and report organization progress.
• Commit time and resources to expand more diverse leadership within our board, staff, and advisory bodies.
• Build new partnerships – identify new grantees from diverse communities and build deeper relationships in those communities.
• Continue to diversify grant panels.

Fueling Field Progress

To pursue needed systemic change related to equity, we will:

• Support substantive learning to build cultural competency and to proliferate pro-equity policies and practices by all of our constituencies and audiences.
• Strengthen the cultural leadership pipeline by creating and supporting programs and policies that foster leadership that reflects the full breadth of our society.
• Advocate for public and private-sector policy that promotes cultural equity.

• Cultural Access Resources
• Equity & Justice Resources

Notes from Strategic Planning Sessions: