At the 2014 Finals Concert on Sunday, Feb. 23.

Throughout the weekend of Feb. 21-23, the Sphinx Organization  held its second annual convening on diversity in the performing arts. Founded in 1996 by Aaron P. Dworkin, Sphinx seeks to transform lives through involvement in the performing arts, and sees the diversification of cultural inclusion in the professional performing arts sphere as critical to that mission.

To that end, SphinxCon 2014 hosted a wide range of speakers over three days, giving voice to a number of issues which pose a challenge to diversity within the performing arts. Of particular concern are the practices surrounding symphony orchestras, as inclusion and diversity within classical music is the main focus of the Sphinx Organization’s Performance Academy and the Sphinx Competition which is held every year in Detroit. The Sphinx Competition Honors Concert and the 2014 Finals Concert also took place during the weekend, at the Music Box on Friday, and the Detroit Symphony Orchestra Hall on Sunday. The competition process is in conversation with The Sphinx Symphony, the only all-Black and-Latino orchestra in the U.S., which includes top professionals from all over the country.

The discussions at SphinxCon this year covered a lot of ground, and drew nationwide thought leadership from artistic and administrative perspectives around the performing arts world. Of particular interest was a presentation by Dworkin, president, regarding the “blind screen” hiring practices of professional symphony orchestras. His presentation demonstrated how a single-minded focus on technical proficiency was limiting the decision-making around a conscious shift toward diversity—not, he was quick to emphasize, at the expense of artistic mastery—which could ultimately bring new life and creative energy to this area of the performing arts.

Kaisha S. Johnson, co-founder of Women of Color in the Arts, gave a presentation on the necessity of having people of color at the table within the administration of arts organizations, and not simply at a performance level, addressing the fact that those responsible for diversity in arts programming are not representational of what is being presented, and therefore are missing the mark in connecting with communities in a genuine way.

The event also included a presentation by Katy Locker, Detroit program director for Knight Foundation, who delivered a detailed talk on creative placemaking, emphasizing the need, at every level, to engage with and serve diverse communities.

Click here for a list of the 2014 Sphinx Competition Laureates.