Introducing Shifting the Gaze

By Melita Belgrave

Welcome to Shifting the Gaze, an in-house arts-based journal designed to offer critiques on issues of race, equity, justice, diversity and inclusion to leaders across the Herberger Institute. The purpose of Shifting the Gaze is to assist the Herberger Institute team in refocusing its attention from the White gaze and moving toward setting its sights on news and events surrounding BIPOC communities.

We accomplish this by producing material that centers BIPOC communities both on and off campus. We also accomplish this by employing a variety of methods that honors multiple epistemological approaches. As such, Shifting the Gaze uses poetry, rap, musical pieces, scholarly essays, videos, dances, letters, reflections and other creative artistic expressions that call on leaders to readjust their lens in order to hear, see and empathize with experiences occurring outside of one’s own purview.

We hope that you will share your responses to the posts with us via email at cultureandaccess@asu.edu and join us in the conversation as we change our culture in the Herberger Institute to begin setting its sights on news and events surrounding BIPOC communities.

Melita Belgrave is the associate dean for Culture and Access in the Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts and an associate professor of music therapy in the School of Music, Dance and Theatre.