New Curators and Hiring Policies
To our beloved community —
I’m delighted to share with you two important steps forward for The Center at West Park as we strive to make our organization more just, diverse, equitable, and inclusive.
New Curators
This fall, we are presenting PARDON THE INTERRUPTION, a new performance series curated by Debra Ann Byrd, Melanie Greene, and Elliot Reed. It is an honor to have these three stellar Black artists serving as Guest Curators for our fall season. They have chosen a slate of five rising artists working in theater, dance, music, and interdisciplinary performance to develop and share new works in our Sanctuary Space this fall.
I believe this season showcases the remarkable diversity of performing artists in New York City and the resilience of our community in the face of the pandemic’s devastating impact. The work of our artists and curators may have been interrupted, but it’s coming back this fall with strength, with beauty, and without apology.
You can learn more about the PARDON THE INTERRUPTION artists and curators here.
We have also expanded the curatorial team for Object Movement, our puppetry residency and festival. Marcella Murray, an Obie-award winning theater artist, playwright, performer, collaborator, and puppeteer. She performed in the 2019 Object Movement Puppetry Festival with Maria Camia’s piece “New Mony!” and we’re delighted to have her return to the program as a curator. You can learn more about Marcella and her work here.
New Hiring Policies
At the recommendation of our Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Task Force, the Center’s board of directors have approved the following policies for hiring all staff positions:
We will use inclusive job descriptions that do not require a specific education level, years of experience, or prior job title; and that do not use gender- or culturally-specific language.
We will engage in robust and inclusive outreach efforts to recruit applicant pools as diverse as New York City. This will include sharing job opportunities with numerous organizations that serve the diverse populations of the city, including BIPOC communities, LGBTQ communities, and differently abled communities.
We will aim to have each job candidate reviewed by multiple staff and/or board members of different backgrounds. Whenever possible, hiring committees will include at least one person of color and at least one female or nonbinary person.
Each round of an applicant review process shall make best efforts to include a diverse pool of candidates, including BIPOC candidates.
Candidates will be evaluated using a standard rubric. This rubric will include the value of bringing any under-represented perspective to our team.
We will provide fair and equitable compensation and seek to provide, at minimum, a living wage for the New York City metro area. Salary and benefits will be clearly stated in the job posting.
We intend that these policies will contribute to the Center at West Park becoming a more equitable employer, a more attractive organization for BIPOC workers, and a better working environment for everyone.
We are currently hiring multiple new positions, including a Facilities Manager and Development Manager. You can learn more about job opportunities with CWP here.
Thank you for your attention and for keeping us accountable for doing the work. We know there is still much more to do to build a just and equitable future. Onward!
Gratefully,
The Center at West Park