The statements we make | Message to arts boards in the wake of MSO crisis | Bad board maths | Ideas that change everything

Plus... a little bit of library love and The RITP on (un)Common Ground

The statements we make

As artists, cultural workers and arts organisations, ours is the business of statement-making.

Depressingly, failure has become status quo when it comes to Australian arts, cultural and non-profit organisation’s response to last year’s Voice Referendum and the ongoing genocide in Palestine as matters of governance, risk and crisis management, financial sustainability and duty of care — including the statements that many have made with their silence.

But our work has always been about more than what’s shown on our stages, places, pages and screens. There are dozens of stories behind each work we commission, publish, exhibit or perform, with every decision making a statement about our organisations, decision makers and supporters — from seemingly innocuous ‘business-as-usual’ social media feeds, to the policies that guide our governance and operations, or what happens when whistleblowers or Freedom of Information (FOI) requests reveal how we behave behind closed doors or firewalls.

In navigating crises and everyday-business alike, everything we do tells the world who we are. There is no neutral, no position that doesn’t come with risk. And pro-actively managing that risk is necessary business.

My latest article on the statements we make is now available on the Overland website.

Image: Lerato Shadi, blank projects (CC (by-nc-nd) 4.0)

Message to arts boards in the wake of MSO crisis

“High-functioning arts boards are possible, but are not necessarily easy to achieve. As Larsen wrote in an earlier ArtsHub article, an essential ingredient in an arts board is for board members to know exactly what their organisations expect of them in their roles from the start of their tenures. Unfortunately, Larsen’s latest sector survey reveals that 58% of arts board members surveyed do not understand what their organisations need from them (a worrying sign, indeed).”

I get a mention in Jo Pickup’s message to arts boards on ArtsHub this week.

Bad board maths

Sometimes, no matter how hard we all try, the maths behind Australia’s arts, cultural and non-profit governance simply don’t seem to add up.

A broken governance model + a deteriorating operating environment + reduced organisational and individual capacity to deal with those issues + fewer people interested in being part of that process + which isn’t legally allowed to exist without them ≠ business as usual.

My latest ‘and another thing’ vlog works through some of the many overlapping issues that are working against boards and the organisations they oversee. 

@katelarsenkeysSometimes, no matter how hard we all try, the maths behind Australia’s arts, cultural and non-profit governance simply don’t seem to add up. Here’s a sneak peek at my latest ‘and another thing’ vlog. The full version and archives are available for my Patreon followers (link in bio). // #Governance #ArtsGovernance #Boards #ArtsBoards #RethinkingArtsGovernance #TheArtOfGovernance #KateLarsen

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If you’d like the full version or more of these rants, you can join me as an advocate, ally or accomplice for rethinking arts governance from just $2.50/month.

Ideas that change everything at TEDxCastlemaine

I am thrilled to be part of the line-up for TEDxCastlemaine at the Theatre Royal on the morning of Saturday 26 October, with my provocation on: why (nearly) everything you thought you knew about boards is wrong.

Can’t wait to hear from some of the most inspiring arts leaders working in Australia and overseas, including: Jade Lillie, Veronica Pardo, Paul Osuch, Lauren Mullings, Karen Bryant, Selene Bateman, Sam Jacob and Richard Sowada.

Book now.

Loving our libraries

This enews has included some bad news about libraries lately, specifically: the poor example of the once-loved State Library of Victoria in weaponising the language of cultural safety to make their venue, programs and workforce less safe; and disturbing calls for the censorship of children’s books in the still-loved Albany Public Library (which gets all the gold stars for their ‘word of the day’ response).

So, while it should go without saying, let me note for the record that libraries are the ABSOLUTE BEST. With the cost of living crisis making the radical concept of borrowing books for free ever more necessary, rising censorship, and the tabling of knee-jerk social media bans for teenagers risking cutting them off from information about themselves and their communities, the work of libraries has never been more vital.

As an almost daily library card user, I will never get over the thrill of Public. Open. Space. and The Relationship is the Project being available from local libraries across Australia (Public. Open. Space. was even launched in two of them). And I feel very lucky that a collection of some of my resources on Palestine as a governance issue is helping organisations and boards via The Commons Social Change Library.

Thank you, libraries. Thank you, librarians. We see you. We love you. And we’ve got your back.

The RITP at (un)Common Ground

Next week, I’ll be talking about The Relationship is the Project on Wadawurrung Country in Ballarat, as part of (un)Common Ground, the 2024 AMaGA National Conference.

Excited to chat with some amazing panelists on transforming traditions. Join Chair Dr Chris McAuliffe for an insightful discussion on how collaborative approaches are transforming our museums and galleries with: Kate Ficai, ACMI; Nici Cumpston, Ngaratya; Georgia Cribb, Bunjil Place Gallery; Josephine Rout, National Wool Museum; and me.

Book your place on the (un)Common Ground website.