Our current theatre ecology has a long and persistent history of artistic practices and organizational structures that have furthered a system of oppression towards underrepresented people in our society. This includes people who are marginalized for their race, culture, religion, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, physical ability, mental ability, locality, class, economic status, and all the complex ways in which these social identities intersect.

As a company, Green Light Arts is committed to using theatre to illuminate challenging ideas on stage and further positive social changes within our community. We humbly recognize that our company has also benefited from, and been complicit in, systems of oppression that persevere in our artform and industry today.

Green Light Arts is currently creating a comprehensive policy for furthering Anti-Oppression and Inclusion practices within our company that will also positively influence the greater theatre ecology.

Current equity and inclusion efforts by Green Light Arts include:

● Anti-Oppression and Anti-Racism training for staff and board members;

● Diversifying our board of directors to represent a true cross-section of our community;

● Consulting with advisory members and community partners about the work we program;

● Programming work that centers underrepresented stories and perspectives on stage;

● Hiring staff, artists, and arts workers from underrepresented groups and putting them in leadership positions;

● Reducing/removing barriers to theatre-going and increasing accessibility options;

● Supporting and championing the Anti-Oppression and Inclusion practices of fellow arts organizations.

We acknowledge that where our organization is situated, and where people gather for our programming, is on the traditional territory of the Neutral, Anishinaabeg, and Haudenosaunee peoples.

Ontario is covered by 46 treaties and other agreements between Indigenous peoples and Settler-formed governments. Waterloo Region is situated on treaty land called the Haldimand Tract. The Haldimand Treaty, established in 1784, was originally 950,000 acres of land promised to the Six Nations people (comprised of several nations including the Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, Seneca and Tuscarora) that covers 6 miles on either side of the length of the Grand River. Presently, this promised land has been reduced to approximately 48,000 acres.

It is our duty as treaty people to honour the origins and impacts of settler societies on this land and on Indigenous peoples. This self-awareness is only a first step towards colonial reconciliation and inter-cultural healing. We all have a personal responsibility on this journey towards land protection, decolonization, equity, and inclusivity of Indigenous people and culture.

We are committed as an organization, as artists, and as community members to learning about, and honouring, the deep knowledge and traditions that Indigenous people have contributed as the original caretakers of this land we share, and that they continue to contribute to our evolving collective culture.

Resources:

Six Nations Lands & Resources

Waterloo Indigenous Student Centre

LSPIRG - Know the Land (Laurier Students' Public Interest Research Group)

OFL

At Green Light Arts we believe that for real change and progress to happen, we must choose to prioritize equity and social justice in our relationships, our workplaces, and in our community. We have always endeavored to be equitable and inclusive in the theatre that we create and present, and, within the company that we run.

We are also aware, as two white settlers leading this company, that we have deficits and a lot of privilege. We aspire to be worthy allies. We see the endless labour of those who are racially oppressed and the toll that it takes. We are listening and we are willing to do the work.

In this unprecedented time, we humbly wish to renew our commitment to use our privilege to prioritize Black, Indigenous and racialized stories in our programming. To hire and provide resources to Black, Indigenous and racialized artists. To bring more Black, Indigenous and racialized leaders to our Board of Directors and as staff within our organization.

As we grow the company, every moment of growth is an opportunity for the art and the organization to better reflect and serve the diversity of people in our community and country.

In solidarity. #BlackLivesMatter