MISSION, VISION, & EQUITY COMMITMENTS

SMUSH Gallery recognizes disparities in America and has dedicated itself to an ongoing process of anti-oppression work and equitable practices.

MISSION
Equitably advance vibrant, accessible, high-quality, and thought-provoking art and culture experiences within our Jersey City community.

VISION
Inspire and connect artists and community across discipline, culture, and experience for a brighter and more compassionate world.

EQUITY COMMITMENTS
SMUSH Gallery is dedicated to an ongoing process of equitable and anti-oppressive practice, including anti-racism, anti-ableism, feminism, LGBTQ+ empowerment, and the advancement of the solidarity economy.

We operate at the intersection of art and community work in the rapidly gentrifying McGinley Square/Journal Square neighborhoods of Jersey City. We work to cultivate a community, physical space, and virtual platform that amplifies artists of color, artists with disabilities, LGBTQ+ artists, female artists, and local artists, and to be a place where people can interact in a way that is respectful, life-affirming and anti-oppressive. We are sensitive to the ways that people have, and continue to be, disenfranchised and marginalized in distinct and intersecting ways. 

We commit to:

  1. Initiate dialog about equity with our contributors (workers, presenting artists & collaborators, volunteers, interns) and share our equity statement with all future contributors for their agreement and/or recommendations for improvements.

  2. Seek knowledgeable advisors for dialog about actionable equity practices and move toward a financial reality that enables compensation for their time.

  3. Implement recommended changes whenever possible and, when not possible, share rationale to the best of our ability.

  4. Strongly and explicitly encourage disenfranchised and marginalized people to apply for opportunities at SMUSH, as well as developing our reach to these artists.  

  5. Increase access by admitting artists of color, artists with disabilities, and LGBTQ+ artists into programs first, especially when programs have a limited number of presenting opportunities, and increase visibility by featuring these artists in our outgoing media as often as possible.

  6. Expand our engagement with, and contributions to, our neighborhood by forming and deepening supportive relationships with our neighbors, neighboring businesses, and nearby community organizations.     

  7. Engage funders, sponsors, and grantmakers in dialog about equity, especially when we recognize an opportunity to advocate for changes in the field.

  8. Revisit and revise these commitments to ensure they are guiding us toward the equitable, anti-oppression work we strive to do.

    Mission, Vision, and Equity Commitments | Equity Statement | Non-Discrimination Statement