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In this first chapter of the book, we present our perspective of the cultural sector along with the terminological choices we have made. Subsequently, we provide a brief literature review on issues of accessibility, diversity, equity, and inclusion (ADEI) in the cultural sector. Finally, we outline the structure of the book, which is divided into five sections. The first four sections group chapters that discuss ADEI initiatives in specific sectors. The first section focuses on the performing arts sector and includes three chapters presenting cases from a theater, the opera sector, and a dance organization. The second section delves into the music sector, with four chapters covering cases from an orchestra, the electronic music sector, musicians from South Africa, and hip hop in Haiti. The third section comprises three chapters presenting cases from the visual arts sector, including Canadian and Chilean museums and a cultural organization. The fourth section explores the events sector, presenting three chapters, two of which discuss festivals and one focuses on the Super Bowl. The final section presents two chapters not tied to a specific discipline. The first chapter shares an experience of teaching ADEI in art in Taiwan, while the second chapter deals with policies related to ADEI from a federal cultural administration in Canada.

As part of the accessibility, diversity, equity and inclusion (ADEI) conceptual umbrella, how accessibility is envisioned and requires increasingly greater attention and involvement from both cultural managers and audiences of inclusive arts organizations? But what is the scope of an accessibility management plan? What exactly does an accessibility plan include, and how do cultural institutions engage with accessibility requirements today? Such questions drive this chapter, illustrated by the case of Teatro Villa Mayor, located in Bogota. Since this cultural institution opened in 2000, its goal has been to “bring people together around shows of quality and diversity that make the theater a symbol of the city.” In 2016, the city approved a new managerial plan for this facility. In response, Teatro Villa Mayor implemented a three-part management strategy for its teams, outlined in this chapter. First, the “Mindset” phase redefined this place as a cultural institution accessible by not one but multiple communities. Second, the “Possibility and capacity” phase activated awareness and training to prepare the theater to be able to receive any kind of event. Third, the “Productive learning” phase encouraged concrete actions to design, implement, and promote new experiences for the audiences. By detailing the strategic changes and evaluation measures adopted by the Teatro Villa Mayor to sustain accessibility, the positive results from accessibility management in cultural industries, such as an increased capacity to organize more events and to welcome new participants, can be discussed.

In our current context, constant adaptation to emerging trends is crucial. There has been much discussion about digital transformation affecting all sectors. The art and event sector is no different and has been directly affected by digitalization, but what influence does this movement have on the management of these events? At the event management level, digital transformation entails organizational adjustments to roles, personal competencies, management techniques and technologies, and, more importantly, leadership philosophies to develop digital inclusion initiatives to attain broader participation in the arts.

Digital transformation's integration into events takes various forms, especially in response to challenges like the pandemic. While it creates opportunities for engagement, it also poses challenges, potentially isolating community members without digital access. The digitalization of an event must be considered at all levels to connect to the participants. Evidence in this chapter is displayed through a hybrid curated and Fringe arts festival: North Australian Festival of Arts, a leading industry example exhibiting new digital transformation models in the Australian arts. We will explore key factors underlying how digital transformation must enhance the experience and access by creating an environment that is familiar to attendees but has enough originality to make the event special and digitally inclusive. This chapter concludes by suggesting key constructs of digital transformation models for event and live performances to embrace digital inclusiveness in the arts.

In 2021, Dr Shang-Ying Chen, chair of the Department of Theatre Arts at National Sun Yat-sen University, invited me to teach in Taiwan for the 2022 academic year. I taught six 16- to 18-week courses, including creativity, marketing, theater management, and research methods, to 100 undergraduate and graduate college students in English.

As a published sociologist and practitioner of accessibility, diversity, equity, and inclusion (ADEI), I seek to center ADEI in every aspect of my own life, which includes my teaching. My chapter “Teaching ADEI in Taiwan” is an autoethnographic study, utilizing participant observation in documenting the ways in which inclusive pedagogies of ADEI impact teaching and learning in Taiwan. As a Jewish white English-speaking researcher-teacher, I also interrogate my own racial awareness and the impact it has on my efforts to provide my Taiwanese students with an education that is culturally responsive. ¹

Though scholarship has documented Black opera leaders' contributions to the art form in the United States (André, 2018; Caplan, 2017; Cuyler, 2021; Southern, 1997; Turner, 2015), they have received scant attention in rubrics that theorize a definition of Black opera (André, 2018; Cheatham, 1997; Schmidt & Schroeder, 1999). However, as their recent advocacy for racial justice (Cuyler, 2022) through their Letter to the Opera Field in 2020 revealed (Cuyler, 2023), Black opera leaders play a powerful and unique role in shaping audiences' appreciation, engagement with, and understanding of Black opera (André, 2018; Cuyler, 2023; Floyd & Cuyler, 2023). In addition to their positionality as observers of and participants in opera companies' decision-making processes, their advocacy for racial justice can compel an opera company to program Black opera, or not (Cuyler, 2021, 2022, 2023). Therefore, in this chapter, I explore the research question, what is the role of Black opera leaders in Black opera? Lastly, I propose a theory of the dynamic process that includes artistic programming and casting, hiring, community engagement, and audience development which enables the development of an audience for Black opera when Black opera leaders view their leadership of these areas of work through the lens of racial justice.

The purpose of this chapter is to explore the attendance at museums of disabled people in Chile. To address this issue, we propose a logistic regression analysis by type of disability (i.e., physical or mobility difficulty, muteness or difficulty in speech, mental or intellectual difficulty, deafness or difficulty hearing, blindness or difficulty seeing) and severity of disability (i.e., two or more conditions in one individual). We use the National Survey of Cultural Participation in Chile 2017 (N = 12,151), a study whose main aim is to explore cultural participation and the factors that influence disabled people. Preliminary results indicate that only some disabilities negatively influence attendance at museums (e.g., physical disabilities); furthermore, the severity of the disability is also a relevant factor, considering it shows a negative influence on attendance at museums. These results suggest several implications for the infrastructure in museums, as well as repercussions in policies, procedures, funding, and financial management in museums that, if addressed, would foster inclusive environments for all individuals in Chile.

This chapter offers a case study (Yin, 2018) of Super Bowl LIII as a special opportunity for diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives for arts organizations. It uses mega-event legacy theory (Preuss, 2015) to frame the outcomes as legacies. The Atlanta Super Bowl Host Committee created a specific initiative entitled Legacy 53. The Legacy 53 initiative consists of five pillars: Business Connection, Capital Improvement Project, Civil Rights and Social Justice, Sustainability, and Youth Engagement (Reed, 2018). This study offers a particular perspective on DEI structures because it examines the Civil Rights and Social Justice pillar's public art project that involved community-driven installations across Atlanta with partners including WonderRoot, an arts organization. The project highlights how administrators can prepare for and take advantage of this unique funding opportunity during future Super Bowls. By reviewing literature on mega-events, urban development, the Olympics, and Super Bowls, I examine the funding structure of the Atlanta Super Bowl Host Committee and investigate how arts organizations relate to DEI initiatives. This work addresses a gap in the literature by highlighting funding with a focus related to systemic justice because it is a unique approach that does not reflect historical Super Bowl funding trends.

This chapter offers empirical evidence of the contribution of a local and popular festival to diversity and inclusion in the hosting territory. With this in mind, three impacts (economic, social, and cultural) are determined and measured from the triple perspective of the creation of value of cultural assets. We show the case of the XXII edition of the Petronio Álvarez Pacific Music Festival held in the city of Cali (Colombia) from August 15th to 20th, 2018. The estimates were taken from three sources: (i) an input–output model adapted for the economy of the city of Cali, (ii) A face-to-face survey of 1,030 festival attendees over 18 years old, and (iii) A face-to-face survey of a representatives of each of the 173 business positions that took part in the Festival (e.g., handicrafts, musical instruments, traditional beverages, cuisine, hairstyles, and cosmetics). The results show that the festival: (i) generates inclusive material wealth, which is measured through income and employment for Afro-colombian communities, traditionally marginalized and economically disadvantaged; (ii) is shown as an opportunity to promote intercultural dialogue and diversity for the local community and tourists; and (iii) the community attending the festival (both locals and tourists) contribute to the cultural enrichment of the territory. The applied method might be replicated for other festivals case of studies in other countries in order to generate evidence that can be used for designing cultural policies which encourage diversity and equity in a specific territory.