WE partner with cultural organizations to maximize their performance and community relevance through access, diversity, equity, and inclusion (ADEI).
WE envision a world where planet-conscious and anti-caste cultural organizations play an active role in achieving the creative justice of the creatively and culturally discriminated against, excluded, marginalized, oppressed, and subjugated. We define creative justice as the manifestation of all historically and continuously low caste peoples living creative and expressive lives on their own terms.
WE believe that caste enabled discrimination, exclusion, marginalization, oppression, and subjugation has negatively impacted cultural organizations’ performance and community relevance compromising their moral capital and costing them billions in earned revenue. With evidence-based coaching and education, cultural organizations can transform into planet-conscious and anti-caste cultural organizations committed to achieving creative justice.
In your exploration of these practices, you may have found a variety of ways in which people understand ADEI including diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI); diversity, inclusion, and cultural equity (DICE); diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB); diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA); equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI); inclusion, diversity, equity, access, success (IDEAS); and justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion (JEDI). We use ADEI to frame creative justice issues that historically and continuously discriminated against, excluded, marginalized, oppressed, subjugated, and low caste communities experience when seeking to engage in the creative sector. Secondly, we use ADEI because we believe that the process of achieving creative justice begins with access, systematically and mindfully followed by diversity, equity, and then inclusion.
Dr. antonio c. cuyler’s (kyler) (he/him/his) journey into access, diversity, equity, and inclusion (ADEI) began at Stambaugh Middle School in Auburndale, FL when a teacher invited him to join a program called, Cultural Cousins. The program tasked students with bridging cultural divides across a diverse and multicultural student population. Since that time, he has established an international reputation as a thought leader in the creative sector on ADEI and creative justice issues by presenting research around the globe in Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Chile, Cyprus, Denmark, England, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Ghana, Iceland, Italy, Japan, Mexico, the Netherlands, Portugal, Scotland, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland. However, the murders of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, and Tony McDade compelled him to found Cuyler Consulting, LLC, a Black-owned arts consultancy that partners with cultural organizations to maximize their performance and community relevance through ADEI. Through his consulting practice, he facilitates ADEI climate, culture, & people surveys, education, research & evaluation, and strategic planning for cultural organizations. Among his clients includes the Arts Administrators of Color Network, Cathedral Choral Society, Chorus America, the Hewlett Foundation, League of American Orchestras, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Youth Orchestras of San Antonio (YOSA), Spencer Museum, and Winston-Salem Symphony Orchestra, among others. In 2021, Routledge published his first book, Access, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Cultural Organizations: Insights from the Careers of Executive Opera Managers of Color in the U. S. Palgrave Macmillan published his first edited volume, Arts Management, Cultural Policy, & the African Diaspora in 2022. He co-edited Access, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the Cultural Sector: Initiatives and Lessons Learned from Real Life Cases with Dr. Julie Bérubé and Dr. Marie-Laure Dioh. He has also authored several peer-reviewed articles and book chapters. As a well-regarded educator with a diverse teaching portfolio, he has taught students pursuing minors, bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees in arts administration, entrepreneurship, leadership, and management at Florida State University (FSU), Colorado State University (CSU), SUNY Purchase College, American University, and the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD). He currently serves as Professor of Music in Entrepreneurship & Leadership at the University of Michigan.