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Pretty soon, you’re going to hear a ton more about an amazing symposium put on by local non-profit Age & Gender Equity in the Arts (AGE). It’s called Unconscious Bias: Achieving Gender Equity. I’ll have the founder Jane Vogel and other symposium steering committee members on the podcast soon. But I didn’t wanna wait to let you know about this incredible project.

This isn’t going to be an academic conference. Many of the presenters are artists, and there are even performance pieces as part of the symposium itself. After the presentations are over, there are live performances of “Muthaland” by Minita Gandhi. It’s a dark comedy about culture, identity, spirituality, and sexuality and covers a time when Minita took a trip to India. Featured presenters also include Dael Orlandersmith and Michaela Watkins.

I hope anyone interested in gender equity in the arts will come to some or all of the events. It’s really about gender equity in all of society because the arts both reflect and shape cultures. It’s important to pay attention to whose stories get the most airtime and whose don’t so we can bring more balance. Please note that this is not your typical white feminist event. There are specifically people of color in key lead decision-making roles, and presenters will represent a wide range of intersecting identities. This is deliberate. Because gender equity, the way they approach it at Age & Gender Equity in the Arts, is to smash the binary, smash the single-issue activism, and bring voices that have been marginalized in to the center. The symposium is so much about engagement and transformation. And even though the main focus is gender equity, it’s about equity across the board, a concept that seems to be called into question publicly more and more lately.

You can get your tickets at this link. I recommend going for the early-bird tickets before December 31st to save $25.

Another way to get involved is to donate to the scholarship fund. Because this is an equity event, AGE recognizes ticketed events exclude people with fixed, low, or no income. They graciously accept donations toward scholarships for people who otherwise couldn’t afford to come. Visit their scholarship donation page to contribute. Donations to the symposium in general are also welcome. You could even donate your frequent flier miles to help AGE bring in the esteemed guest presenters from out of town!

Unconscious Bias Symposium (#UBS2017) is at PSU campus, March 3-4, 2017. It’s presented in partnership with the PSU Office of Global Diversity and Inclusion. You’ll get tons more details about the event, the schedule, the different pieces around disability access, and what to expect there when the podcast comes out in December or January.

For more info, to volunteer for the event or ask for a scholarship, or to donate to Age & Gender Equity in the Arts for the symposium or their scholarship fund, drop them a line at info@ageinthearts.org.