35//50

The 35//50 Initiative has invited Catalyst Theatre and other professional arts organizations across Alberta to commit to a set of organizational beliefs and policies, rooted in anti-racist and anti-oppressive practices.

We are grateful for the invitation and wholeheartedly commit to working with the members of The 35//50 Initiative and our arts sector colleagues to create a professional landscape that more equitably reflects our civic landscape with a minimum of 35% IBPOC and 50% women or non-binary people in paid, professional positions by the 24/25 season. We believe that this target date gives us time as a community to explore, discover and share best practices, and that working together and having open conversations about these efforts are essential to the success of The 35//50 Initiative.

It is time to do better.

Catalyst Theatre is situated on Treaty 6 territory as well as Region 4 of Métis Nation of Alberta and we recognize that on this land where we create, share, and tell stories not everyone has had equal access to resources, rehearsal halls, offices, or performance spaces. We believe that representation matters, on stage and off, and we are committed to ensuring our theatres are safe and equitable spaces for everyone.

We share with the members of The 35//50 Initiative the belief that through the implementation of actionable programs, initiatives and interventions we can create profound and lasting change in Edmonton.

TO THIS END, CATALYST IS COMMITTED TO THE FOLLOWING:

• mutual accountability and transparency, by tracking the numbers of our governance, administrative, and artistic teams who identify as IBPOC, as women or as non-binary people,

• making these numbers publicly available at the end of the 20/21, 21/22, 22/23, 23/24 and 24/25 seasons in order to present an ongoing narrative of our organizational efforts,

• continuing to offer opportunities such as Confluence – Catalyst’s season-long creative fellowship for artists who identify as IBPOC,

• formalizing equitable hiring policies,

• continuing to review and evolve our anti-harassment and safe space policies and procedures – living documents that we believe must be updated regularly,

• offering IBPOC mentorship opportunities every season,

• enabling permanent staff members to participate in anti-oppression and anti-racist training whenever possible,

• actively working to invite diverse voices to our board,

• working with trained facilitators to audit all of our diversity and inclusion practices and all areas of our operations, and to examine the organization through an anti-racist and anti-oppression lens.

 

Catalyst Theatre is grateful to the members of The 35//50 Initiative for the work they have done and continue to do. We are committed to doing what we’ve outlined above and look forward to working with our arts sector colleagues in the spirit of collaboration. We believe that through initiatives and interventions like this, the Edmonton arts sector can create safer workplaces for a wider range of artists and build a stronger, more diverse community of thriving artistic leaders, performers, and audiences.

Please stay tuned to this page for further updates, including our statistics, progress reports, and new initiatives that may unfold throughout the coming months.