Creating Real Belonging: Lead Presentation by Nina Simon

Color-blind casting has defined the field’s commitment to diversity for decades, but it is an insufficient standard by which to include people of color in opera. Opera lags behind other art forms and industries in reflecting the world around us — onstage, backstage, in administrative offices and around the board table — reinforcing negative stereotypes that keep people away from the opera house. Transforming opera’s culture requires change in the attitudes and practices that have defined the field for generations. Nina Simon will suggest ways to create a space that embraces audiences, staff and artists of color, and invites them to engage fully in the creation, production and enjoyment of an art form that will be enriched and expanded through their participation.