Harold Steward
Harold Steward (they/them/theirs, he/him/his) is a cultural organizer and arts administrator from Dallas, TX. They joined The Theater Offensive in Boston as the Managing Director in June of 2017 and currently serve as Executive Director and Cultural Strategist, overseeing fund development, communications, and operations throughout the organization. Harold most recently served as Manager of the South Dallas Cultural Center, a division of the City of Dallas Office of Cultural Affairs, which provides instruction and enrichment in the arts with an emphasis on the African contribution to world culture. Harold also founded Fahari Arts Institute in Dallas in 2009 after recognizing a gap in the landscape for local LGBTQ artists of color in Dallas. Fahari Arts Institute celebrated, displayed, and produced the work of queer artists from the African Diaspora. Harold is a proud member of Alternate ROOTS, the Board of Directors for the National Performance Network/Visual Artists Network, Theater Communications Group and Steering Committee of the Black Theater Commons. Harold is a founding member of NextGen National Arts Network and Founding Partner of Steward Cultural Development Group, as well as a Cultural Equity facilitator with Equity Quotient and Affiliate Faculty in the Department of Theater Studies at Emerson College. Steward’s current research interests include The Queer Trap Aesthetic in American Theatre and Identity Reclamation—the process in which oppressed individuals reclaim agency over their identity through cultural production.