About

SFAI is an independent arts organization forging critical inquiry and cultural exchange among artists, creative practitioners, and the broader community. We support and amplify dynamic artistic practices that engage complex social issues, inspire individual transformation, and inform collective action.

We hold the following values as the ethos of the SFAI community.

Using ENGAGED COMMUNICATION, we:

• Listen actively and demonstrate sensitivity for others’ feelings and perspectives.
• Are present and engaged with our SFAI community, including face to face interaction, regular check-ins and debriefs.
• Are responsible for our own emotions and actions and communicate our needs.

With CARE & CAPACITY, we:

• Acknowledge and are sensitive to cultural differences.
• Respect vulnerability and other perspectives, even if they do not align with our own.
• Acknowledge and are considerate of capacity, time, roles & responsibilities.

Taking RESPONSIBILITY & ACCOUNTABILITY, we:

• Fulfill promises and commitments, and proactively work to resolve issues.
• Approach mistakes as opportunities from which to learn and develop.
• Acknowledge the value of everyone’s time and skills through care in communication, appropriate compensation, and reciprocity.

Honoring CREATIVITY & EXPRESSION, we:

• Work to expand definitions of who is an artist, what art is, and who art is for.
• View artistic practice as a process and not a product or commodity, and lift up the inherent knowledge, expertise, and embodied experiences of artists as integral to shaping culture and society.
• Consider creative practice in relation to the intended audience and community.

Valuing INCLUSION & INTERSECTIONALITY, we:

• Work to build transparency in decision-making, power structures, and priorities.
• Prioritize the needs of historically excluded members of our community and work to create space that is accessible for different bodies, minds, and abilities.
• Consider the impact and not just the intention of our actions and words and take personal responsibility to educate ourselves about systemic oppression and injustice suffered by historically marginalized communities.

At SFAI, we stand in solidarity with Black, Indigenous, and people of color, LGBTQ+, the differently-abled and the poor, with all oppressed peoples, and with liberation movements here in the U.S. and across the world. We acknowledge the many ways in which institutions perpetuate structural racism and oppressive systems. We humbly acknowledge our mistakes, and we commit to continually learn from them in order to grow as an institution on this journey toward liberation. We understand that statements of solidarity must be accompanied with action.

At SFAI, we commit to continue to pro-actively increase access by BIPOC and underserved artists and community members, and to continually improve our policies and actions to be anti-racist.

Actions that we have taken to underscore this commitment include:

• Creating collaborative community agreements between staff, residents and fellows, that reflect anti-racist values and actions, and which are reflected upon and collectively agreed to on a monthly basis;
• Adhering to a 1:3 wage ratio that exceeds Santa Fe’s living wage ordinance, and which extends to all staff, contractors and vendors;
• Seeking and retaining staff and leadership that uphold our values and are representative of our community. BIPOC represent over 45% of our staff and board.
• Investing in anti-oppression training for staff;
• Completely divesting from oil, gas, weapons, and ammunition;
• Providing our residency program free of charge, and paying stipends for BIPOC residents (all residents will receive a stipend starting in 2025);
• Asking white staff, board, residents, and fellows to acknowledge their privilege, to engage in conversations about race, ethnicity and allyship; and to do this work without requesting assistance, validation, or unpaid emotional labor from BIPOC;
• Paying artists and community members to co-design, lead, and participate in our public programming;
• Paying interns or ensuring that they receive college credit for their work at SFAI;
• Collaborating on and curating public programming that invites critical dialogue on local, national, and international issues, current events, and history – and which seeks to uplift oppressed voices and disrupt mainstream narratives;
• Implemented a new employee policy that provides a paid holiday on election days;
• Providing childcare, food, and translation during our public events, to the extent possible; and
• Acknowledging the injustices and enduring trauma that colonization of this land has imposed on Indigenous peoples, and reflecting upon the experiences, histories, and contemporary lives of the Indigenous peoples here in New Mexico and around the world. SFAI is located on unceded lands that are the traditional territories of Pueblo, Ndee (Apache), and Southern Ute peoples, and have also long been home to the Diné (Navajo).

Additional actions that we will take include:

• Investing in anti-oppression training for the board of trustees and staff on an annual basis;
• Increasing transparency through placing our annual budget and IRS Form 990 on our website;
• Donate to Gaza refugees, and provide a list of organizations to donate to, on our website and at events;
• Post clips of SFAI Alumna Dr. Linda Dittmar’s book Tracing Homelands: Israel, Palestine, and the Claims of Belonging on social media, and upload the entire video from her February 13, 2024 book talk at SFAI on our webpage;
• Routinely add to the Anti-Racism Resources section of our website with Anti-Oppression Resources; and
• Work with artists-in-residence to host convenings to discuss topics at hand.

SFAI affirms these steps are not enough to secure justice for oppressed peoples, but we remain committed to compassionate engagement, to learn from our mistakes, and to continue to take necessary action.