From Commitment to Practice: How ArtsNL gave its team practical language for serving an increasingly diverse community
About ArtsNL
ArtsNL is Newfoundland and Labrador’s provincial arts funding body, supporting artists and arts organizations across the province. For decades, it has worked to ensure that artists across generations feel seen, supported, and valued.
As the communities ArtsNL serves have become increasingly diverse, so have the artists engaging with its programs and funding opportunities. That shift raised an important question for the organization: did the team have the practical language to serve that changing community as well as it wanted to?
As Programs Officer Laura put it:
“We wanted to acknowledge that our clientele is changing. The cultural community is changing. The way we need to talk to people is changing, and we wanted to be on the forefront of that.”
The Challenge
The commitment was already there. The question was how to put it into practice. ArtsNL wasn’t starting from zero.
The organization already had policies supporting inclusion and a team that cared about serving its community well. But ArtsNL also understood the realities of being a long-established public organization.
“We are an old organization and a government organization, and you know how that can get you set in the old ways.”
At the same time, the people ArtsNL served were changing. Artists were coming from different cultural backgrounds, communities, generations, and experiences.
That created a practical question:
Did the team have the language and confidence to navigate that growing diversity as thoughtfully as they wanted to?
Rather than wait for a difficult situation to expose a gap, ArtsNL chose to be proactive.
The Approach
Start where people are.
Laurabel Mba Consulting facilitated a customized Lunch & Learn focused on inclusive language and communicating across difference with greater awareness and care.
There was an important consideration from the beginning: not everyone in the room was starting from the same place.
People brought different experiences, reference points, levels of knowledge, and levels of comfort to the conversation.
Rather than expecting everyone to already know the “right” terminology, Laurabel created room for people to ask questions, make mistakes, and learn.
One message particularly stayed with Laura:
“There’s no wrong answers. You say it the way you can say it, and then we’ll work on the language. We’ll polish up the language later.”
That changed the tone of the room.
Instead of worrying about saying the wrong thing, participants could engage honestly and build from what they already knew.
“You met us where we were, essentially, because we were all at different levels.”
The Shift
The session ended. The thinking didn’t.
For Laura, one of the clearest changes showed up in something incredibly simple: A pause.
Before speaking, she found herself thinking more intentionally about the words she was choosing and how they might be received.
“Before, I’d say something just to fill the airspace. But now I think about, how will this be received? Am I saying this in the correct way possible? Am I using the right words? So I know that there’s that pause.”
That pause is small.
But it represents the kind of practical awareness ArtsNL wanted to strengthen: noticing, considering, and responding more thoughtfully in everyday interactions.
The session also gave new context to work ArtsNL had already done.
“We’d always had a policy. But it now took on more meaning.”
The principles weren't new.
The team's relationship with them was.
Beyond the Session
The learning has continued to influence conversations inside ArtsNL.
Inclusive language is being considered as the organization develops its new strategic plan, and existing policies are being viewed through a renewed lens.
Most importantly, the session gave the team a shared experience and language they could carry back into their work serving artists across Newfoundland and Labrador.
It wasn't about leaving the room knowing exactly what to say in every possible situation. It was about feeling better equipped to pause, consider, ask, and respond when the answer isn't obvious.
What Laura Would Tell Another Leader
When asked what she would say to an organization considering this kind of learning, Laura’s advice was simple:
“Even if you think you know what you know, you don’t know what you know.”
Organizations can have inclusive policies, equity commitments, and people who genuinely care and still benefit from an outside perspective.
“You can sometimes get into a little bit of tunnel vision about how progressive your organization is. It’s good to get an outside perspective.”
That outside perspective doesn't replace the work already happening.
It can help an organization see where there is room to go further.
The Impact
BEFORE
Inclusive policies and a genuine commitment to serving an increasingly diverse arts community.
THE NEED
Greater shared language and confidence to put that commitment into practice in everyday interactions.
THE APPROACH
A customized, accessible Lunch & Learn that met participants at different levels of knowledge and created space for honest learning.
AFTER
Greater awareness in everyday communication, renewed meaning behind existing policies, and inclusive language considerations carried into broader organizational planning.
About Laurabel Mba Consulting
Laurabel Mba Consulting helps organizations move equity, inclusion, and belonging from intention into everyday practice.
Led by anti-racism educator and DEIB strategist Laurabel Mba, our learning experiences are designed to meet people where they are and build the awareness, language, and confidence needed to navigate complex conversations with greater care.
From customized workshops and facilitated conversations to policy development, organizational strategy, and workplace investigations, we help organizations turn good intentions into practical action.
Your policies may already say what you believe.
let’s make sure your people feel equipped to put it into practice.
Interested in inclusive language training, anti-racism education, or a customized DEIB learning experience for your organization?
