When Nataki Garrett was named the artistic director of Oregon Shakespeare Festival (OSF) in Spring 2019, people took notice for multiple reasons: Garrett is only OSF’s sixth artistic director and its first woman of color to hold that position. She also became one of few women of color in the country to lead a major theater. Because of OSF’s history, reach, prestige, and $44 million budget, and Garrett’s track record in developing new work and her commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion, her appointment seemed to herald an important moment in not-for-profit theater. But just as Garrett was launching her first full season as artistic director, OSF was forced to shutdown because of the pandemic—closing five productions only six days after opening. Since then Nataki Garrett has focused her efforts on keeping OSF vital, sustainable, and accessible to new and old audiences alike. In this podcast, she talks about OSF’s 2020 journey through the pandemic,  the country’s racial reckoning, and the challenges and opportunities presented by both, OSF’s 2021 season, and her vision of creating strategies to support artists.

As we celebrate Women’s History Month this March, the National Endowment for the Arts will shine the light on some phenomenal women, past and present, through the agency’s blog, podcast, and social media channels. While the stats may continue to be disappointing in terms of equity, we believe that as we work to address those disparities it’s also important to celebrate the impact women have made and continue to make in the arts. From Phillis Wheatley, an enslaved woman who was also one of the best-known poets in pre-19th-century America to dancer and choreographer Martha Graham, whose work lives on not only through her dancers but through the company’s venture into mixing dance with technology, we’re celebrating women who, to borrow from Maya Angelou’s famous poem “Phenomenal Woman” have fire in their eyes and joy in their feet.