In early 2023, The Z embarked on a strategic planning process with an ambitious intention: to completely reinvent the model for a performing arts center from the inside out, to make it an organization FOR the community WITH the community. This entailed questioning how decisions (such as what gets presented) are made and by whom, building community amongst the audiences, artists, staff, and volunteers, and doing the hard work of unlearning old ways and building a culture of justice and belonging.
What follows is the strategic plan that emerged from that ambition – which speaks authentically and vulnerably to what will need to change, as well as to what we envision in terms of a new model.
