Paper Presentation.

The purpose paper is to develop paradigmatic antecedents and consequents of social, cultural, and political organizing between three Black women led arts organizations establishing a ‘Black cultural place’ within their shared community of East Oakland, California. Building upon this embedded, contextual paradigm, the research study employs creative methods, such as drawing in focus groups, and oral history interviews from the research participants' social, cultural, and political surroundings, both internally and externally to their organizations. These approaches are unique to the research context and the lived experiences of the research participants who are artists and arts administrators. Ultimately this paper serves as a catalyst for research studies conducted with arts organizations created by, for, and about the communities of color in which they operate and exist. This study contributes to contextual organizational studies by illustrating paradigmatic possibilities for research and scholarship in wider fields of arts administration, arts leadership, and organizational studies.