Community agreement

Our community agreement is a reflection of our commitment to transparency and accountability. It outlines the values and expectations that we hold for ourselves and for our community members.

We encourage everyone to review our community agreement and to provide feedback. We are committed to creating a community where everyone feels safe, respected, and valued.

Mission: Establish a public space for Queer BIPOC photographers while alleviating hardship created by socioeconomic and institutional biases in the arts.

 

COMMUNITY ASSUMPTIONS

  • All systems of oppression exist

  • We live at intersections, we all benefit and are harmed by systematic oppression 

  • It is not useful to argue about which system is worse

  • All systems are interconnected 

  • Dismantling systems of oppression benefits everyone 

  • Confronting social justice can be difficult, honor and celebrate growth as a whole

  • Opposing systems of oppression, building alternatives, and cultural change are all necessary

  • Liberation is possible 

PHYSICAL SPACE + PROGRAMMING

  • Practice inclusion. Programming is done with intention; Identities and their intersections are considered when curating events and exhibits. 

  • Representation is vital. Consider race, class, ability, sexuality, economic status, etc. when programming, curating, and collaborating.

  • Respect the staff, volunteers, and organizers. Act with kindness

  • Respect the physical space. Acknowledge that money allocated towards fixing damages is taking away from funding that would otherwise go towards uplifting artists and ensuring GRID Galleries longevity.

  • Make everyone feel welcome & included. Period.

  • Space shared by members (i.e. meetings, events) must be as physically and socially accessible as possible.

    • Wheelchair accessible entrance, washrooms, seating

    • Sign language interpretation and/ or live captioning 

    • Hearing language interpretation 

    • Board Members will engage in ongoing reflections of abled, anglophone, middle/upper class and other intersecting privileges and supremacist cultures etc. and will attend training related to anti-oppression annually 

CONSENT + AUTONOMY

  • Ask for consent. Practice consent with everyone. Recognize the fluidity of boundaries, consent is constant and can only be given if sober. Harassment — whether physical, verbal, or emotional — is never tolerated.

  • Respect boundaries. Be aware that people can be sensitive towards particular language or topics. These topics can include — but are not limited to — sexuality, assault, religion, and bodies. If you are unsure if a topic might be sensitive, ask the people you are speaking with. Recognize that no one needs to explain their boundaries.

    • Prioritize your own needs. If a conversation is difficult and/or triggering, feel free to excuse yourself from it and come back if/when you feel able - No questions asked.

  • Use content warnings. Some experiences may be sensitive for other folks in the space.

  • Respect and honor silence and confidentiality. The specifics of conversations should stay within the group. Feel free to share lessons learned, but not names or identifiers. If someone shares an experience that gives you perspective, take that with you, but be sure to respect the privacy and feelings of the person who shared.

  • Expect and accept non-closure. Many racial justice conversations focus on awareness-raising and the development of our own racial justice competence, not necessarily the transformation of others. Sometimes you may have to revisit conversations to reconcile differences and in other cases, things may go left unsaid, or even unfinished. 

 LANGUAGE + BEHAVIOR

  • Hate speech is never okay. Hate speech can be directed towards an individual, a group of people, or a physical space. If you have a question about what “hate speech” is, do your research, and self-reflect.

  • Honor people’s pronouns. If you don’t know someone’s pronouns, just ask. If you misgender someone — apologize, correct yourself, and move on.

  • No shaming and/or belittling each other or ourselves.

  • Be aware of how much space you are taking up. Be mindful of any privileged identities you may hold and help to create an environment for everyone to contribute. If you are someone who tends to not speak a lot, please move up into a role of speaking more. If you tend to speak a lot, please move up into a role of listening more. Be aware of the impact you are having on others’ ability to contribute. If you are facilitating, this is an opportunity to notice and acknowledge power dynamics in the room.

    • Who is talking first?

    • Who is holding power because of their role (like the facilitator), status, or identity?

    •  Who is disengaging or observing instead of actively participating? 

  • Prioritize communication during conflict. Here at GRID Gallery, we have a common goal of collective growth, which means we call people “in,” not out.

    • Never resort to violence.

    • No one needs to argue for the sake of argument. Playing “devil’s advocate,” for instance, generally does not help progress conversation and has been instrumentalized by people to promote values that perpetuate inequality.

GROWTH + ACCOUNTABILITY 

  • Establish brave space. In difficult conversations our learning often comes through our own discomfort and risk taking. By avoiding conflict or keeping others “comfortable” you may miss the opportunity to authentically engage with others or further your own understanding. However, we also recognize that sometimes our words can create harm despite our best intentions. We acknowledge we are here to learn in community with one another. By centering our work on our shared goals and values and approaching conversations with respect and generosity we will further our shared learning. 

  • Be a good ally. Be on the look-out for ways in which you can make people feel safer and more included. Do your own research, it’s not the responsibility of marginalized communities to educate you. 

  • Honor time agreements. Respect the commitments we have made to one another. ELMO (Enough, Let’s Move On).

  • Assume positive intent. Not everyone shares the same set of experiences and knowledge, so assume that people have good intent. Act with positive intent yourself.

    • Be accountable for the impact of your words and actions

  • Don’t act defensively. Listen politely to critiques when being called in.

    • Your feelings are not more important than anyone else’s

  • Use “I” statements. Speak from your own experiences rather than generalizing.

  • Getting “called in” is an opportunity. When being called in, it is helpful to practice the following:

    • Take responsibility for your actions.

    • Acknowledge the impact of your actions.

    • Apologize for your actions.

    • Commit to a resolution moving forward.

  • Sharing a personal experience can be difficult. Speak your truth and let others speak theirs. When someone shares something vulnerable, acknowledge and believe their experiences, even if they don’t align with your own.

  • We are human, not perfect (we can’t be articulate all the time). If you are someone who is hesitant to participate for fear of “messing up” or stumbling over your words. We encourage you to participate, even if you can’t get it right all the time. 

  • No one knows everything; Together we know a lot. We all have a responsibility to share what we know, as well as our questions, so that others may learn from us. 

CREATING COMMUNITY AGREEMENTS 

  • Before constructing agreements, assess the conditions that will influence the process

    • The group’s experience with community agreements 

    • The group’s existing culture 

    • How new or established the group is

    • The size of the group 

    • The amount of time you’ll have to work on the agreements

STEPS FOR CREATING COMMUNITY AGREEMENTS 

1.    Seek to create active learning (not “safe”) space. Reserve “safe space” terminology for trauma-related healing spaces. 

2.    Recognize common pitfalls. Share key concepts (e.g. intent vs. impact; centering voices of marginalized people, etc.) 

3.    Co-Create agreements/ solicit community input. Facilitate brainstorming, revisioning, and prioritizing processes. 

4.    Define behaviors. Help move Grid Galleries language from broad concepts (e.g., "Be respectful") to specific behaviors (e.g. what does respect look like? do we listen deeply to things that are harmful?). 

5.    Build consensus. Gain group consensus before enacting. 

6.    Create a contingency plan. Collaboratively decide how you will respond when an agreement is breached. 

7.    Develop check-in procedures. Check-in regularly on how everyone is adhering to ground rules. 

8.    Keep the ground rules visible. Create a shared document or visual that keeps the ground rules visible in shared spaces.

Last Revised: 11/15/2024