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Building on more than 7 years of programming as 21st Century Arts, 21st Century Arts Inc. is a 501 (c) (3) nonprofit organization. Launched in July 2020, it is a producer, presenter, and convenor that centers BIPOC culture and fosters equity and racial justice in the arts sector. 21st Century Arts Inc. is based in and produces work at its multi-faceted arts space, The Black House, which
is located in Rochester, NY.
21st Century Arts Inc. - a new non-profit building on years of impact in BIPOC creative communities
““Inequity is not a theoretical or abstract concept to be debated by a dominant group, about an oppressed one. Marginalized people’s understanding of the existence of inequities and how they manifest are rooted in their lived experiences. They are the experts of their realities.”
Rachel Y. DeGuzman, Founder and Executive Director at 21st Century Arts Inc.
LEADERSHIP
Meet the Founder and Executive Director
Rachel Y. DeGuzman is the award-winning founder and executive director of 21st Century Arts Inc., which she established in July 2020 as a 501 (c) (3) organization after 7 years as a sole proprietorship. 21st Century Arts Inc. is headquartered in the community oriented The Black House which launched its COVID-19 public programming in November 2020.
The focus of DeGuzman's work is decentering whiteness in arts/culture by centering the art, narratives and voices of people of color - especially women & marginalized LGBTQ+ communities. In fulfillment of that vision, she established “At the Crossroads: Activating the Intersection of Art and Justice,” an initiative presented by 21st Century Arts, in 2017. Her current work values experimentation, innovation, creativity in all its forms, social justice, & equity. Rachel is the founder, producer and host of Activating Art and Justice Radio. She was a trustee at the Monroe County Library System and a community curator Rochester Museum Science Center’s 2020 “Changemaker's" exhibition. A 2019/20 VSW Community Curator, DeGuzman is an in-demand speaker, panelist, and collaborator. She is an active member of the anti-racism in the arts organization – Artists Co-creating Real Equity/People’s Institute for Survival and Beyond (ACRE/PISAB).
Rachel DeGuzman was founder and executive director of the ground-breaking WOC ART COLLABORATIVE, where among her accomplishments she devised and directed its DreamLab CoWork initiative, Seed Equity Investment Initiative, COVID-19 Live ROC fundraiser, monthly WOC ART Book Circle, and Anna Murray Douglass Awards. During her tenure, she helped grow its membership from 11 to 48 members in a year.
Among her other past positions she was the director of development at Garth Fagan Dance, director of development and communications at The Commission Project, marketing manager at Nazareth College Arts Center, and director of advancement and external relations at Rochester City Ballet.
DeGuzman is one of the featured changemakers in the upcoming exhibition of the same name at Rochester Museum Science Center that opened in November 2020. She was named one of the “Rochester 10” in December 2017 by Rochester City Newspaper; a recipient of Geva Theatre Center’s 2016 Essie Calhoun Diversity in the Arts Award (“Essie"); a 2016 ATHENA Award finalist; recipient of Visit Rochester’s “Coach” award; a 2011 New York Emmy Award nominee; and a 2009 D&C “Woman to Watch.”
Board
Rachel DeGuzman
President
Founder & Director, 21st Century Arts Inc.
Dr. Irma McClaurin
Former Program Officer, Ford Foundation
Diversity Specialist and Leadership Consultant
Founder of the Black Feminist Archive at University
of Massachusetts-Amherst
Ruby P. Lockhart
Secretary
Retired Labor Relations Specialist, NYSUT
(New York State United Teachers)
Co-owner All Day Sunday.
Maya N. Susice
Treasurer
Community Volunteer and
Banker/Audit Specialist
is a nonprofit, 501 (c) (3) and donations are tax-deductible
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Rachel Y. DeGuzman | Founder & Executive Director | 585.704.0983
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"21st Century Arts (Inc.) is playing an increasingly prominent role in helping to cultivate, support, and grow a racially diverse arts landscape in Rochester."
Jonathan P. Binstock, Ph.D., Mary W. and Donald R. Clark Director at Memorial Art Gallery University of Rochester
“Through the work of 21st Century Arts, DeGuzman empowers creative expression as an innovator of unique opportunities for cultural connection and as a galvanizing force for equity in the arts. She is a brilliant and tenacious leader dedicated to promoting diverse arts and creatives in the region as well as a practitioner who uses the arts to build and enrich the community.”
Kathryn Murano Santos, Senior Director, Collections and Exhibitions at Rochester Museum & Science Center