Statement of Support for Nataki Garrett | New Jersey Theatre Alliance

As an international coalition of theatre and performing arts service organizations, we collectively voice our support, admiration, and respect for Nataki Garrett, Artistic Director of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival.

Ms. Garrett is a leading national figure both as a theatre artist and an advocate for a society that is more equitable and just. Arts organizations across the country look to Oregon Shakespeare Festival as a beacon of progress, creativity, and innovation on stage and off. It is notable that while OSF has been a leader in the work of diversifying artistic programming, artists, and staff for over a decade, it is only now, when a Black woman is at the helm, that public resistance has taken the form of unconscionable threats of violence.

We denounce, in the strongest possible way, any and all threats of violence against artists and arts leaders, and we are particularly alarmed and disgusted by the layers of misogyny and racism that underly the threats against Ms. Garrett’s life.

Artists have always been at the forefront of imagining new worlds, encouraging empathy, and expanding the stories that are told. No artist should be made to fear for their life because of their creative contributions or their personal identity.

Our organizations are charged with offering the arts field leadership through service. We have members in all fifty states and Canada. We are a community of artists and leaders, all working toward a world where the arts can continue to make the world better, more inclusive, and more representative of all people’s lived experience. We are grateful to Nataki Garrett, as well as the board, staff, and artists of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival for their significant leadership in the field. We stand in solidarity with Ms. Garrett as she navigates these unacceptable threats of violence while continuing to lead her organization with the courage, grace, artistry, and vision for which she is known.

Sincerely,

Alliance of Resident Theatres/New York (A.R.T./New York)

ArtPride New Jersey

Arts Administrators of Color Network

ArtsBoston

Asian American Arts Alliance

Austin Creative Alliance

Boston Dance Alliance

Dance/USA

Greater Baltimore Cultural Alliance

Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance

Inspire Washington