Navigating art ecosystems can be challenging, especially for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC). Being a BIPOC artist in the Midwest can also feel isolating and it may be challenging to unite with like-minds across vast geographies. That’s why Centering the Margins exists, to cultivate a community of care that can feel and be very hard to find.

Centering the Margins is an free online gathering series designed for participants to process, learn, find one another, and find joy in camaraderie. It’s a space thoughtfully designed so people can candidly talk, process their experiences, and learn new things about navigating as a creative professional together—inviting those who feel they are on the outside to share their experiences, moving the margins to the center.

The themes for the programs in Centering the Margins Season 2 are Show & Tell, Shaping, Communicating, and Coalesce.

The themes were chosen through a collaborative in-person and online visioning session last summer where 27 participants across the region showed up to shape the program’s future. BIPOC artists and creatives who were invested in their own long-term success as well as their broader arts ecosystems gave ideas central to Centering the Margins’ theory of change: igniting creativity, collaboration, and connection across the Midwest.

Pre-register now and join in on the dynamic, fulfilling, and restorative conversations happening during Centering the Margins Season 2. We’d love to have you join!

Sessions will not be recorded, but resources will be shared after each program.

Centering the Margins serves BIPOC arts professionals and emerging creatives in Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, and Texas.

Centering the Margins is a program of DB Approach, LLC and is led by community leaders Diane Burkholder and Desiree Kane with support from Mid-America Arts Alliance.

FREE Program Dates

Find the Zoom link to register here below. One registration will sign you up for all four sessions.

Centering the Margins: SHOW & TELL (October 18, 2023) 2:00-4:00 p.m. Central Time

Centering the Margins: SHAPING (February 14, 2023) 2:00-4:00 p.m. Central Time

Centering the Margins: COMMUNICATING (April 17, 2024)  2:00-4:00 p.m. Central Time

Centering the Margins: COALESCE (June 12, 2024) 4:00-6:00 p.m. Central Time

Registration link: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZUrdOusrj0pG9YajreYPiZVc8JyDIvVqn1E#/registration