Diversity and Inclusion

Twist Fibre Festival is a diverse, inclusive, and equitable space where all employees and volunteers feel valued and respected, regardless of their gender, race, ethnicity, national origin, age, sexual orientation or identity, education, socioeconomic status or disability. We are committed to modeling diversity and inclusion for the entire fibre arts industry and to maintaining a nondiscriminatory approach and providing equal opportunity for employment in the organization as a whole as well as in our programs and activities. We respect and value diverse life experiences and heritages and ensure that all voices are valued and heard.

To provide informed, authentic leadership for cultural equity, Twist Fibre Festival strives to:

  • See diversity, inclusion, and equity as connected to our mission and critical to ensure the well-being of our staff, attendees, teachers, exhibitors and the arts communities we serve.
  • Acknowledge and dismantle any inequities within our policies, systems, programs, and services, and continually update and report organization progress.
  • Explore potential underlying, unquestioned assumptions that interfere with inclusiveness.
  • Advocate for and support organization-level thinking about how systemic inequities impact our organization’s work, and how best to address that in a way that is consistent with our mission.
  • Practice and encourage transparent communication in all interactions.
  • Commit time and resources to expand more diverse leadership within our board, staff, attendees, exhibitors, volunteers and advisory bodies.
  • Lead with respect and tolerance. We expect all staff (including volunteers) to embrace this notion and to express it in workplace and event interactions, and through everyday practices.

We, at Twist, are taking proactive steps to enact this philosophy. We are working hard to make Twist a safe and welcoming space to everyone, and we will not tolerate any behaviour that contradicts this commitment from vendors, teachers, staff (including volunteers) or attendees. If you encounter any intolerant behaviour during the event, please report it to a staff member or one of our volunteers.