What is READI?

The Connecticut Office of the Arts will insist upon using the lenses of relevance, equity, access, diversity, and inclusion to guide programmatic and investment decisions within a framework of artistic excellence. Here are our definitions of what that means to us:

Relevance:  Meaningful or purposeful connection to one’s aspirations, interests, or experiences in relation to current society or culture. We commit to a culture that supports curiosity, action and awareness in, about, and through the arts.

Equity:  Policy and practice that is fair and just. Our processes and systems are designed to insure that we distribute resources without bias. We commit to a level playing field for constituents to access the resources in our control and the systems we can influence. 

Access:  We will create pathways that invite participation and communication and that provide opportunities for constituents from all populations. We commit to cultivating channels for engagement on all levels for all people.

Diversity:  A mosaic of individuals offering unique perspectives and experiences influenced by their ethnic, cultural, social, economic and ability backgrounds. As Malcolm Forbes says, “Diversity: the art of thinking independently together.” We commit to enhancing creativity through diversity.

Inclusion:  Active participation by constituents who represent and reflect the communities we are all a part of. We commit to building a community that is respectful and responsive to the diverse talents, skills and abilities of all people. 

We acknowledge that artistic excellence and merit are very hard to define, so in lieu of having a static definition we are leaning on resources from the field to guide our interpretation of what artistic excellence means.  Here are two of the articles we go back to when grappling with what artistic excellence means: 
Divining ‘Artistic Excellence

National Endowment for the Arts' ART WORK grant review guidelines