Center for the Arts Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Vision and Goals

The mission of the Lisa Smith Wengler Center for the Arts at Pepperdine University is to present an innovative, unique, entertaining, and diverse program of exceptional performances and museum exhibitions. We believe presenting diverse voices on our stage leads to empathy and understanding. We believe we are a better presenter when we attract a diverse audience. We believe in the power of shared cultural experience and are honored to be an organization where people can come together and laugh, cry, learn, and grow.

Cultural organizations led by people of color have been historically disadvantaged due to systemic racism in our country. Organizations in Greater Los Angeles are no exception. We are committed to use our resources to help provide opportunity to artists in our community.

Specifically, we commit to:

–Increasing the diversity of our staff, including our ushers, technicians, museum attendants, and customer service personnel. We believe in the power of seeing faces of every color when you come to the Center for the Arts for the first time.
–Presenting a diverse season each year, including work by Black and Latino artists.
–Presenting a diverse ARTSReach season each year, so schoolchildren from Los Angeles and Ventura Counties see themselves and their neighbors on our stages.
–Providing free performances and museum tours to thousands of schoolchildren each year through the ARTSReach program. Providing bus grants for schools with financial need to ensure that schoolchildren will not be denied access to our programming based on limited financial resources.
–Sponsoring at least one residency each year by a Los Angeles based dance, music, or theatre company led by a person of color.
–Supporting student productions by students of color, providing mentorship and technical and administrative resources to support student productions.
–Supporting exhibitions in the Weisman Museum of Art from artists of color.
–Calling on our colleagues, staff, students, and patrons to hold us to these values.