Talking Back

artEquity’s web series that reveals the movement for justice in the theatre field.

About Talking Back

Hosted by artEquity founder and executive director, Carmen Morgan, Talking Back is a web series that brings together visionary artists, activists, and cultural leaders to discuss the growing movement for justice in the arts field.

The first season of Talking Back was filmed in September 2019 before the first case of COVID-19 was recorded, and prior to the global uprisings in 2020. Season 1 brought artEquity’s practice of facilitating hard and necessary conversations to a broader audience. In six episodes, the curtain was pulled back and viewers gained insight into the activism and progress achieved by theater practitioners across the field.

The second season of Talking Back was filmed in November 2022. In three episodes, Season 2 engaged with and focused on Black creatives who have operated at all levels of leadership in arts organizations across the United States. In these conversations with creatives, playwrights, producers, performers, and leaders, we were reminded of the ways in which Black folks, in particular, "have a way of converting trauma into other things." We learn what it takes to transform, not just anti-Black institutions, but an anti-Black field.

This series was created and produced by Sharifa Johka. Funding for Season 1 of Talking Back was provided by Meyer Memorial Trust and the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. Season 2 of the project was provided in part by the Mellon Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts.