This summer, 10 Diversity in Arts Leadership fellows from all over the country are convening to explore and build skills in arts administration and cultivate knowledge in cultural equity. For 28 years, Americans for the Arts has been hosting the DIAL internship program as an investment in a more equitable arts management field. This series features our DIAL cohort in two parts: five fellows are profiled here and in a later post, five more!

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Akilah Hartgrove

(she/hers)
Current Location: Newark, NJ
School and Major: Recent graduate at Earlham College in Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies (B.A.)
Something you picked up during quarantine: I’ve created a foodstagram (food instagram) page! @kilah_cancook One of the (many) career paths I dreamt of doing as a kid was as a professional chef and restaurant owner. Quarantine has allowed me to revive my passion for food. I love being in the kitchen every day creating and photographing delicious, homemade meals!
The title of your memoir would be: Time Looks Good on You
In three words, give us your morning routine: Sunshine & daily walks

How do you see the arts field adapting to the world post COVID? 

One major way that the arts field will be adapting to the world post COVID is implementing more virtual-based programs. I see arts institutions having to rethink what traditional art spaces are—i.e. museums, theatres­—and how that experience can be replicated digitally. I think this is the perfect time for the arts field, which has historically been an elitist environment, to intentionally practice equitable arts management to make art accessible to all.

Why is the DIAL fellowship important to you at this time in your life?

DIAL gives me something to look forward to every week. DIAL has introduced me to the world of arts leadership and administration—a world I was unfamiliar with prior to this opportunity. This fellowship has been essential in preparing me for working-from-home etiquette (if life continues in quarantine). I find myself having to think outside of the box/outside of the “normality” of life, and adjust to a new, virtual way of thinking.

What has been one of your main takeaways from the sessions?

DIAL has taught me the practicality of logic models. I will always use logic models, which is essentially an explicit and well-executed road map to successful programming and planning. DIAL has also taught me to check myself for my own biases that I might uphold so that I can truly practice equity and inclusivity in the art world.

What’s been your favorite DIAL (virtual) moment?

I love how close all of the fellows have become. We send lots of love in our group chat. I also genuinely love how we check in on one another to see how our week is going.

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Ashley Betances

(she/hers)
Current Location: Hamilton, NJ
School and Major: Rising junior at Drew University, majoring in Fine Arts & Arts Administration
Something you picked up during quarantine: Hand crocheting
A song you currently have on repeat: “Tints” by Anderson .Paak
In three words, give us your morning routine: Relax in bed.

How do you see the arts field adapting to the world post COVID? 

I think there will be a lot of online art shows and galleries as well as smaller, intimate art shows.

Why is the DIAL fellowship important to you at this time in your life?

It’s important to me because it’s teaching me how to become a leader in the arts field. I already wanted to be one, but this is reinforcing my feelings on it and pushing me to think about things in a different perspective.

What has been one of your main takeaways from the sessions?

How things can be done in many different ways and how we should dig deeper into our roots to find what we’re passionate about and share it with the world.

What’s been your favorite DIAL (virtual) moment? Definitely the discussions I have with the fellows. They have become a wonderful part of my week.

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KeShawn Mellon

(he/him)
Current Location: Athens, OH
School and Major: Rising senior at Ohio University, Acting (BFA)
Something you picked up during quarantine: Hiking and cooking!
The title of your memoir would be: The Walk Home
A song you currently have on repeat: “Black Parade” by Beyoncé 

How do you see the arts field adapting to the world post COVID? 

Incorporating healthier, cleaner practices during events.

Why is the DIAL fellowship important to you at this time in your life?

It’s teaching me how to be equitable within arts administration, which then also teaches me to see the inequities in current systems.

What has been one of your main takeaways from the sessions?

You cannot build equitable practices within oppressive systems.

What’s been your favorite DIAL (virtual) moment?

Hearing the question “What are you as a white-led organization willing to sacrifice for Black Lives Matter?”

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Cristal Seda Santiago

(she/hers)
Current Location: Aguadilla, Puerto Rico
School and Major: Recent graduate from The University of Puerto Rico Mayagüez, with a B.A. in Fine Arts
Something you picked up during quarantine: Getting to fall in love with drawing again
If you had your own late-night show, your first guest would be: The creators of Avatar: The Last Airbender, it has been my favorite show for over a decade and impacted my life in an artistic way
In three words, give us your morning routine: Thirty-minute reboot

How do you see the arts field adapting to the world post COVID? 

I see the arts adopting the technology and the virtual outreach that was developed during COVID-19 and further developing its benefits. Also, I believe there will be a newfound appreciation for the arts since we learned that it was needed in this time of big change and emotional turmoil.

Why is the DIAL fellowship important to you at this time in your life?

As a recent graduate I’m in this transitional period in my life where I need to decide on my career. I’ve had a huge interest in pursuing the Arts Administration field for a while, and the DIAL fellowship program fortunately confirmed my feelings and now I know that I’ll be proud to be walking on this path.

What has been one of your main takeaways from the sessions?

Learning how some nonprofit organizations and art administrators are pushing for a change to form an equitable space for artist of all backgrounds. It’s really hopeful to see.

What’s been your favorite DIAL (virtual) moment? Besides learning so many aspects of arts administration, it’s nice to be in a space where many people from different backgrounds can share their perspective and we can all learn from each other.

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Charis Shin

(she/hers)
Current Location: Northern New Jersey
School and Major: Rising sophomore at Rutgers University, studying English and Economics
Something you picked up during quarantine: I started gardening! Fingers crossed that by the end of the summer I’ll have a little harvest.
If you could choose to be in any reality TV show, it would be: Guy’s Grocery Games (come on, it’s Guy Fieri)
If you had your own late-night show, your first guest would be: Bong Joon-ho

How do you see the arts field adapting to the world post COVID? 

Wow, tough question (and to be honest, I really don’t know)! But, perhaps a bit tangentially, one of my hopes is that we, societally, all realize just how much we turn to the arts in our darkest of times. Books, movies, music—perhaps they may seem like more dispensable things in the really heavy world of economic and public health crisis, but truly, I think that every person I know (as well as I myself) has sought out solace in the arts, whether it be as an appreciator or a practitioner, throughout this pandemic. That being said, I know the field is going to be going through huge changes and relying heavily on digital programming for the time being, and I think that it’s important that the transformations remain accessible to people of all walks of life, because we all need our arts ecosystems in a post-COVID world, whether we know it or not.

Why is the DIAL fellowship important to you at this time in your life?

I think that I’m at a crossroads of figuring out what I want to do in the future (as a rising sophomore). DIAL has shown me that there are so many doors that I didn’t even know existed. I think that for me, culturally, pursuing a career in the arts isn’t exactly encouraged, and so DIAL has been amazing at affirming to me that there is so much potential in this field to do good and to be transformed myself.

What has been one of your main takeaways from the sessions?

Self-advocacy is so, so important. There is still so much progress needed in creating equitable and diverse spaces in the arts field, and so we have to know our worth as creators and serve as lighthouses for every facet of our identity to pave the way!

What’s been your favorite DIAL (virtual) moment?

Post-panel discussions! We’ve always had a bit of time after our Monday sessions to discuss our thoughts, and it’s great to have a safe space like that.