Registration is still open for the Friday, June 12, 3:00-4:30 pm EST, VRA Webinar Incorporating Diversity in our Workplace. Originally part of the Baltimore conference program, this session has been moved online. It is free of charge to members and non-members, although advanced registration is required. Please sign up using the MyVRA link. Your confirmation email will include information on how to access the Zoom webinar. Contact tech@vraweb.org with any technology concerns.We hope that you can join us! Please forward to your colleagues or anyone else who may be interested in learning more about VRA and the work of its members.Friday, June 12, 2020Incorporating Diversity in our Workplace: All are Welcome, but How Do We Get There?3:00pm - 4:30 pm ESTRegister: vra.memberclicks.net/vrawebinar_0612#/Moderator: Andrew WangPresenters: Heidi Raatz, Cindy Frank, Meghan RubensteinWebinar Description: As keepers of information in the art, architecture and other cultural heritage fields, we need to be mindful of all the cultures represented in our world. This is apparent in the art that is created and in the various bodies that study it and care for it. As Visual Resources professionals we have the opportunity to respect and celebrate all the diversity that all these cultures represent. At the local level this may mean adjusting our hiring practices. It may mean exploring the way we catalog the work of art and the artist or architect, so that a student can find the representative of themselves in the collection. At the institution level, it may mean formalizing the hiring practices of an equitable process, or training to be aware of microagressions. This session proposes to share direct experiences and then enter a discussion with session attendees to share ideas. We intend to present on the topics of recruiting and hiring a diverse group of student employees and how this creates a dynamic work environment and welcoming public center. We intend to discuss how museums and cultural heritage organizations can develop ethical and respectful methods of collecting, standardizing, and expressing artist/creator data as part of a larger ethical and empathetic practice, and how museums can use artist/creator data to convey factors such as experience, personal identity, environment and status.How can cultural heritage organizations develop ethical methods of collection, standardizing and expressing artist/creator data as part of a larger ethical and empathetic practice? How can we adjust our hiring practices to reach new audiences? How do we remove the “white male” filter from an image search?
