Arts Administrators of Color

As we mark 10 years of Arts Administrators of Color Network, we’re excited to share an important leadership update as we step into AAC’s next chapter. ✨ Erika Hawthorne has been appointed Executive Director after serving as Interim Executive Director since 2024. ✨ Deliasofia Zacarias has been elected Board Co-Chair. ✨ We also welcome new Board members Alyssa M. Garcia, Landrum Beard, and Tenaja Jordan. As we enter our anniversary year, we are navigating a complex political and funding landscape that has made equity-centered work increasingly challenging. We are proud of how far we’ve come and clear-eyed about what it will take to move forward in this moment. We’re energized by the vision and leadership these individuals bring as AAC continues to grow its national reach and support arts administrators of color across the field. Join us in celebrating this incredible group of leaders as we step into AAC’s next decade. Read more in our newest blog: link in bio! 🔗 #ArtsAdministrators #ArtsAdmin #ArtsLeadership #NonprofitLeadership #ArtsAndCulture #Nonprofits

Introducing The Bridge — AAC’s new job & opportunity board! From full-time roles to gigs, residencies, fellowships, and freelance work, The Bridge aims to connect arts administrators, artists, and creatives to a full spectrum of opportunities across the arts & culture sector. Why The Bridge matters: • Flexible roles for every creative path • Free to browse, no account needed • Only live, up-to-date postings • Required salary fields + filters by modality, sector, and opportunity type Are you hiring? Organizations can post listings for 90 days and boost visibility with featured slots or newsletter ads. We hope The Bridge deepens connection, opportunity, and representation across our field. Explore + bookmark this new resource today! 🔗 /thebridgeor link in bio!

We will thrive in 2025. As we step into this new year with renewed energy and purpose, we are steadfast in our commitment to building a creative sector that is anti-racist, anti-oppressive, and human-centered. Since 2016, AAC has been a space *for us, by us*—connecting, advocating, and creating opportunities for BIPOC arts leaders. Now, as we prepare for our 10-year anniversary in 2026, we’re hoping to meet this moment with bold initiatives: ✨ Relaunching our mentorship program, peer affinity spaces, and workshops ✨ Reuniting in person at our Convening ✨ Launching a job board and searchable database highlighting our community's expertise ✨ Developing a national policy agenda driven by our voices ✨ Reconvening our Cousin’s Regime ✨ Building local resource hubs across the country These are more than programs—they’re lifelines. But this work depends on your support. If our community donated just $10 a month, we could sustain our work for years to come. Let’s build our future, together. Donate today: link in bio! #WeWillThrive2025 #SupportAAC #BIPOCArtsLeadership #FutureOfTheArts

Recently, AAC joined arts leaders, advocates, and culture bearers in Sacramento, CA for the 4th Annual CA Arts & Culture Summit hosted by @caforthearts . We left reminded of how vital in-person affinity spaces are for connection, strategy, care, and community among arts administrators of color. As we celebrate 10 years of AAC, we’re committed to continuing spaces like these and we’d love your support in making future gatherings possible. Learn more about our affinity spaces and invest in what comes next: /invest

How do the stories we see on screen shape who belongs? Join AAC and the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding for "Rewriting the Script: Arts, Media Narratives, and Democratic Belonging," an evening of research, storytelling, creative dialogue, and community connection exploring how portrayals in media shape public perception, policy, and democratic belonging. Together, we’ll examine how narrative harms ripple across communities of color and how arts and culture can help move us toward solidarity and collective liberation. 📍 El Museo del Barrio (New York, NY) 🗓 Friday, June 12, 2026 ⏰ 5:30–8:00 PM ET Featuring: ✨ Research presentation + moderated artist conversation ✨ NAIMS pop-up exhibit experience ✨ Networking mixer + refreshments ✨ Space to reflect, connect, and imagine new possibilities together Artists, cultural workers, educators, advocates, storytellers, and community members are all welcome! Register: link in bio!

10 moments from 10 years. ✨ As we celebrate a decade of the Arts Administrators of Color Network, we’re reflecting on just a few of the moments that have shaped our community - from convenings and affinity spaces to workshops, networking happy hours, joyful reunions, and personal relationships built along the way. These photos hold pieces of our story: the conversations, the care, the laughter, the strategy sessions, the breakthroughs, and the reminder that none of us are alone. If you recognize yourself or someone you know, tag them below and help us celebrate the thousands of people who have helped shape AAC over the last 10 years. As we honor where we’ve been, we’re also investing in where we’re going. Help us build AAC by investing in our future today: link in bio! 🔗 #AACNetwork #ArtsAdministratorsOfColor #BIPOCArtsLeadership #BIPOCArts #ArtsandCulture #NonprofitArts #ArtsAdministration #ArtsAdmin

Reports from the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission show that in 2024, over 30,000 race-based discrimination charges were filed against U.S. employers, a 44% increase since 2022. These figures underscore a continued and urgent need to rethink workplace norms and challenge traditional definitions of “professionalism” that may contribute to inequitable experiences. Join Arts Administrators of Color Network on May 5th for "Deconstructing Professionalism," a virtual workshop exploring how we can unpack, question, and redefine professionalism...on our own terms. Update: Thanks to our sponsor, University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance, we’re able to offer a set of free student tickets to this workshop as well as additional regular rate tickets! 🗓 Tuesday, May 5, 2026 ⏰ 3–4:30 PM ET 📍 Virtual Register: link in bio! Space is limited.

What does it really mean to be “professional”… and who gets to decide? Jovan Osborne invites you to join us for "Deconstructing Professionalism," a virtual workshop that challenges the norms many of us have been asked to navigate and reimagines what’s possible in the workplace. If you’ve ever felt the pressure to shrink, code-switch, or conform at work, this space is for you. Come unpack, reflect, and redefine professionalism on your own terms alongside community. 🗓 Tuesday, May 5, 2026 ⏰ 3–4:30 PM ET 📍 Virtual Register today: link in bio! Space is limited.

AAC is proud to be a community partner for the 2026 Creative Entrepreneur Capital Summit (CECS), a powerful gathering of DMV creatives exploring what it takes to build sustainable, thriving creative businesses. Shoutout to our board co-chair Stacey Williams, who will be speaking on "Grit + Growth: Funding GoGo’s Future" alongside an incredible lineup of leaders pushing culture and capital forward. From funding pathways to long-term visioning, CECS is creating space for creative entrepreneurs to scale, innovate, and invest in what’s next. Join the event on May 7, 2026! Register at link in bio! #AAC #ArtsAdmin #ArtsAdminofColor #CreativeEntrepreneurs #CECS2026 #GoGo #ArtsAndCulture #DMVCreatives

It's tough being an arts administrator. It's even tougher being an arts administrator of color. We've been supporting Arts Administrators of Color (AAC) for years now, and this year we're growing our support to specifically uplift their mentorship program.✨ Flashback to 10 years ago when AAC was getting started and I was finding my way as an arts administrator. You're often the only person of color in the room. You're managing microaggressions, toning yourself down, navigating corporate culture while holding deep love for the arts. AAC gave me a space to see other people like me. To find community. To feel inspired and empowered. That experience planted seeds that grew into LiberArte. 🌱 Mentorship matters. Community matters. Owning this space together and lifting each other up is how we keep moving forward. Join @artsadminofcolor and become part of the community. If this work has supported you, or if you want to see more arts administrators of color thrive in their careers, join me in the donor circle. 💫 Let's go do this. #ArtistLedFutures

Erika Hawthorne, Executive Director, Arts Administrators of Color Network, Inc. (AAC) @artsadminofcolor , speaks on the importance of people power and carving out spaces for affinity space centering Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) and global majority-identifying artists and arts administrators. ⁠ ⁠ AAC will lead the “Affinity Space for Artists & Arts Administrators of Color” breakout session at the CA Arts & Culture Summit next week. The session offers a space to connect, reflect, and recharge alongside peers with shared lived experiences in the arts and culture sector. ⁠ ⁠ The CA Arts & Culture Summit is taking place April 19–20. Tickets are now sold out, but learn more here: https://bit.ly/cfta-summit26⁠ ⁠ #JoyActionPower #ACCM2026 #CAArts #BoundlessCreativity #BoundlessCulture ⁠

When professionalism is narrowly defined, it can reinforce harmful norms rooted in racism and misogyny. It doesn’t have to be that way. Join AAC for our upcoming virtual workshop, Deconstructing Professionalism, a session that invites you to unpack what professionalism truly means through conversation, personal reflection, and creative expression. Using real-world examples and data from the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, this workshop explores how outdated standards continue to shape our professional lives and how we can redefine them on our own terms. 🗓 Tuesday, May 5, 2026 ⏰ 3-4:30pm ET 📍 Virtual Register today: link in bio! Space is limited.