Risk and reputation management, crisis communications and duty of care
Plus... how have your say on the arts in SA
Dear arts organisations
Amongst everything else, the last several months have been a crash course for boards, leaders and organisations in risk and reputation management, crisis communications and duty of care from the pointy intersection of arts and human rights advocacy.
Maybe you made decisions in the past about which circumstances have changed to make them problematic or meant they’ve caused harm - or have the potential to cause harm in some way.
Maybe you made decisions in the past (knowingly or unknowingly) that were not ideal or genuinely problematic that have now come to light.
Maybe your organisation’s values, policies and procedures have never been tested or needed to be demonstrated in such a visible way, and are suddenly unclear, unhelpful or not fit for purpose.
Maybe you made a statement in haste, shared a policy or expressed solidarity in a way that backfired, created or compounded harm.
Maybe you’ve yet to make a statement, been critiqued for your institutional silence or ‘business as usual’ communication or social media feeds.
Maybe you simply made plans before the world changed.
[This situation] may or may not be of your making. You may be reeling, reacting, staying silent or taking a stand. Fairly or unfairly, you may be more or less impacted or involved. Nonetheless, this is about you, and requires your response.
Inspired by my recent vlog series on why boards need to talk about Palestine, you can now find my letter to [insert any number of arts organisations here] on my website - an attempt to frame the sorts of conversations going on amidst the hurt and panic, best and battered intentions, solidarity and silences right now,
Calling SA arts makers / workers / lovers
The South Australian Government has announced plans to redevelop its long-term vision for the state’s arts, culture and creative sector.
As an arts practitioner and consultant who now calls Tarntanya/Adelaide home, I welcome this opportunity.
Unfortunately, this enthusiasm has been tempered by (amongst other things) the timing of the consultation and policy development process over the summer festival and shutdown period, within a more tenuous operating context than the sector has ever experienced, and during a time of significant global crises, grief and pain, as well as by the single open-question online survey, which creates the unfortunate impression of a preconceived outcome unlikely to be shaped by sector input.
For the sake of our sector and the people within it, it’s vital South Australian artists, arts workers, arts lovers and audiences take this chance to have our say.
My ‘one big idea’ is for: a bold, bipartisan policy that is able to survive future changes of government and includes significant, sustained, state-wide and cross-portfolio investment that prioritises individual practitioners, small-to-medium organisations and under-represented communities over new cultural infrastructure, Adelaide-based institutions or cultural statutory authorities.
What’s yours? You can find out more or copy and paste my draft response on my website.