What can we learn from the culture sector crisis during the pandemic?

In this episode I speak with Ben Walmsley, one of the world’s preeminent thinkers on the cultural sector to discuss the importance of learning from culture in crisis.

Ben is the Director of the Centre for Cultural Value in the UK, as well as holding the roles of Professor of Cultural Engagement and Director of Research and Innovation in the School of Performance and Cultural Industries at the University of Leeds.

Ben’s research encompasses arts management, arts marketing, audience studies, and cultural policy with a focus on audience engagement and enrichment, change management in the arts, and cultural value and leadership.

Ben and I discuss his hugely ambitious research project into the impacts of Covid-19 on the cultural sector. With an impressive national research team, Ben and his colleagues undertook a vast amount of research and gathered case studies to determine how the pandemic impacted the workforce, audiences and organisations within the arts sector.

We discuss some of the key findings from the Culture in Crisis report, specifically how the pandemic shone a light on existing negative trends within the arts and cultural industries. There is still a great need for more inclusion, representation, and equality. Ben talks about why digital is not the answer to audience development and how since the pandemic, cultural organisations are more active in stimulating everyday creativity.

As we discuss the pandemic’s impact on cultural organisations, Ben shares why networks are the key to resilience within the arts sector. We talk about what it means to take a regenerative approach and how we must learn to work with our biological rhythms and produce less, not more. We discuss the need for better HR in the culture sector, to promote healthy and balanced workplaces, encouraging creativity and time for intrinsic evaluation.

This was such an inspiring and thought provoking conversation. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Resources mentioned: 

www.culturalvalue.org.uk

Culture in Crisis Report

Supported by Creative Victoria, Theory of Creativity Season 2 is focused on 'Real Change and Renewal'. Tune in on the first Tuesday of the month as Patternmakers Managing Director Tandi Palmer Williams speaks with experts in audience trends, strategic planning, organisational change and resilience.

CONNECT

Connect with Tandi Palmer Williams:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tandiwilliams/

Instagram: @thepatternmakers

Twitter: @tandi_will

Facebook: @thepatternmakers.com.au

Visit the website of research agency Patternmakers:https://www.thepatternmakers.com.au/

To hear more Theory of Creativity episodes:

https://www.thepatternmakers.com.au/theoryofcreativity

Stay in the loop with all the latest research, tools and resources for growing cultural organisations. Subscribe for the monthly Culture Insight & Innovation Updates: http://eepurl.com/gnwrUf 

Marketing the Arts during a pandemic has led marketers to throw out their reliance on traditional methods of marketing and embrace a new approach. The way audiences buy tickets has completely changed and has led to the need for a higher level of planning pre-production. 

The uncertainty surrounding whether people will feel comfortable leaving their homes to see a production, visit an art gallery or museum, or attend a concert has been at an all-time high leading to many empty seats and creating a logistical headache. 

My guest today is Amy Maiden, managing partner of Anthem. Amy was previously the Chief Strategy Officer of the Australian Arts Marketing Agency and the prior General Manager of Australian Theatre for Young People. She is an absolute wealth of information and experience and is here to share it with you today. 

In this episode, we are discussing marketing the Arts in uncertain times. Amy talks about the significant shifts that have occurred in sales patterns, how this has affected the planning and preparation of events, and how she teaches her own team to remain responsive and not to panic. 

We explore the current trends in marketing, the rise in digital marketing and the importance of focusing on the whole experience and feel for the audience. People will remember how they were made to feel and it’s vital for the brand that they’re driven to return in the future or purchase subscriptions.

Amy talks in detail about utilising social media to effectively market productions and events by telling a story. Content is king and the audience will shy away if they’re hit with a direct sell. 

In order to emerge out of these unpredictable and difficult pandemic times with a strong Arts sector, Amy shares how everyone must embrace each opportunity to test, learn and try new things. 

Resources mentioned: 

• Anthem: https://www.anthemco.com.au/ 
• Seth Godin’s Blog: https://seths.blog/ 
• Creative Partnerships Australia: https://creativepartnerships.gov.au/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/20129-CPA-Beyond-Sponsorship-Report__FA.pdf 
• Creative Partnerships Australia: https://creativepartnerships.gov.au/news-blog/giving-attitude-private-sector-support-survey-2020/ 
• Substrakt - A guide to social media for the arts: https://substrakt.com/journal/a-quick-guide-to-social-media-for-the-arts/ 
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tandiwilliams/ 

Supported by Creative Victoria, Theory of Creativity Season 2 is focused on 'Real Change and Renewal'. Tune in on the first Tuesday of the month as Patternmakers Managing Director Tandi Palmer Williams speaks with experts in audience trends, strategic planning, organisational change and resilience. 

CONNECT

Connect with Tandi Palmer Williams:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tandiwilliams/

Instagram: @thepatternmakers

Twitter: @tandi_will

Facebook: @thepatternmakers.com.au<

The performing arts sector faces systemic and structural challenges that have been present long before Covid-19. These include low financial security, low job security, working contract to contract, a highly casualised workforce, freelancers that aren’t protected, and no access to paid leave or sick leave. The pandemic has shined a light on the prevalence of each one of these and has enlightened the general public to the complex problems workers in the performing arts have been facing consistently. 

To talk about cultivating and fostering mental wellbeing in the arts sector, I am chatting with Tracy Margieson. Tracy is from the Arts Wellbeing Collective at the Art Centre Melbourne. The Arts Wellbeing Collective is a mental health and wellbeing program specifically tailored for the performing arts industry. It has grown rapidly, since its pilot in 2017, to become a one-of-a-kind, comprehensive sector-wide initiative.  

Tracy discusses the founding of The Arts Wellbeing Collective and the gap it filled in the industry helping and supporting people working in the arts. She goes on to talk about how the pandemic has impacted the performing arts sector and the mental health determinants that influence people in the arts far more than people working in the general public. 

Using this evidence-based research and knowledge, The Arts Wellbeing Collective works with hundreds of organisations to improve the wellbeing of their employees. Together they identify the challenges and design preventative initiatives to promote positive mental health. 

This will look different for every company and depends on how they visualise their ideal healthy workplace. Tracy and her team encourage leaders to examine the cause instead of just treating the symptoms to effect true change. 

This episode is full of useful information that we can utilize as artists to protect and preserve our mental health. You’ll feel energised and inspired to improve the wellbeing of not only yourself, but the people around you. 

If this interview raises any issues for you, or if you or anyone you know is struggling with mental ill-health or needs support, call or visit the online resources below:

• Support Act Wellbeing Helpline - 1800 959 500, https://supportact.org.au/get-help/wellbeing-helpline/
• Lifeline – 13 11 14, lifeline.org.au
• Beyond Blue – 1300 224 636, beyondblue.org.au/forums 

Resources mentioned: 

• The Arts Wellbeing Collective: https://artswellbeingcollective.com.au/
• Active Hope Article: https://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/health-and-wellness/how-active-hope-may-help-sustain-us-through-the-uncertainty-20210824-p58ljg.html
• The Audience Outlook Monitor: https://www.thepatternmakers.com.au/covid19
• Tips and Tactics for Sustaining Audience Engagement through the Pandemic: https://www.thepatternmakers.com.au/tips-and-tactics
• Museums Association Reporting on New Research: https://www.museumsassociation.org/museums-journal/news/2021/08/culture-more-in-demand-than-pubs-on-the-high-street/

In many ways, racial equity is one of the most important challenges of our time. We have certainly made progress in this space, but there is more work to be done. 

Our guest today is a powerhouse and champion of cultural diversity and racial equity in Australia’s art sector. Lena Nahlous, Executive Director at Diversity Arts Australia, joins me to discuss the Creative Equity Toolkit, an incredibly valuable and practical resource to help organisations make headway in this area. 

With a long list of achievements working with migrant and refugee communities and a range of roles in community and cultural development, Lena took on her role at Diversity Arts Australia to help influence change at a systemic level. The Creative Equity Toolkit is a curated collection of easily accessible resources, language prompts and practical checklists, helping organisations make real cultural change from within.

Lena talks about how the toolkit works, the topics it includes and how to navigate through the numerous resources available. We talk about what meaningful progress looks like in an organisational setting, and how this must be done first in order to create a real shift in our society. 

We discuss how important it is to have an action plan with tangible goals, responsibilities, an allocated budget, and review processes in place and how diversity and inclusion is an ongoing journey because things are always shifting.  There is always more to learn but every small step we take has a ripple effect. Keep listening, keep learning. 

LINKS

The Creative Equity Toolkit: https://creativeequitytoolkit.org/   

Colour Cycle Podcast:http://diversityarts.org.au/project/the-colour-cycle/

Stop Everything! on Apple Podcasts

The Towards Equity Research Overview 

Diversity Arts Australia

LinkedIn: Lena Nahlous

Supported by Creative Victoria, Theory of Creativity Season 2 is focussed on 'Real Change and Renewal'. Tune in on the first Tuesday of the month as Patternmakers Managing Director Tandi Palmer Williams speaks with experts in audience trends, strategic planning, organisational change and resilience. 

CONNECT

Connect with Tandi Palmer Williams:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tandiwilliams/

Instagram: @thepatternmakers

Twitter: @tandi_will

Facebook: @thepatternmakers.com.au

Visit the website of research agency Patternmakers:https://www.thepatternmakers.com.au/

To hear more Theory of Creativity episodes:

https://www.thepatternmakers.com.au/theoryofcreativity

Stay in the loop with all the latest research, tools and resources for growing cultural organisations. Subscribe for the monthly Culture Insight & Innovation Updates: http://eepurl.com/gnwrUf 

My guest today is Morwenna Collett, an accomplished Sydney-based consultant, leader and facilitator working in the arts. Morwenna is sought after nationally and internationally for her expertise in diversity, access, and inclusion. Fuelled by her own lived experience as a musician with disability, Morwenna is passionate about increasing accessibility within the music industry.

In this episode, Morwenna shares how her diagnosis with Multiple Sclerosis whilst studying at the Queensland Conservatorium of Music opened her eyes to the fact that the arts was not set up for inclusion. Morwenna shares why she believes music hasn’t made as much progress in the area of inclusion as other sectors and the different types of barriers that organisations need to navigate in order to advance.

We talk about the difference between diversity and inclusion, the imperatives for change and how art has a pivotal role in helping the community understand and break down the barriers for people with disabilities.

Morwenna discusses some of the research she has found and the 5 key pillars to success in making organisations more accessible. She shares some examples of impactful work and how artists with disabilities are creating some of the most exciting, groundbreaking and risk-taking work out there.

LINKS

Website: https://www.morwennacollett.com/ 

Resources that Morwenna recommends: https://www.morwennacollett.com/resources

Twitter: @morwennacollett

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/morwennacollett/

Morwenna’s article on ‘Building a musically inclusive future’ in Limelight Magazine:

Free Strategy Tool Library

Storythings newsletter: https://storythings.com/newsletters/ 

Supported by Creative Victoria, Theory of Creativity Season 2 is focussed on 'Real Change and Renewal'. Tune in on the first Tuesday of the month as Patternmakers Managing Director Tandi Palmer Williams speaks with experts in audience trends, strategic planning, organisational change and resilience. 

CONNECT

Connect with Tandi Palmer Williams:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tandiwilliams/

Instagram: @thepatternmakers

Twitter: @tandi_will

Facebook: @thepatternmakers.com.au

Visit the website of research agency Patternmakers: https://www.thepatternmakers.com.au/

To hear more Theory of Creativity episodes:

https://www.thepatternmakers.com.au/theoryofcreativity

Stay in the loop with all the latest research, tools and resources for growing cultural organisations. Subscribe for the monthly Culture Insight & Innovation Updates: http://eepurl.com/gnwrUf 

My guest today is Andrew McIntyre, co-founder of MHM (Morris Hargreaves McIntyre), one of the world’s biggest and best consultancies specialising in the culture sector. He joins me today to discuss psychographic culture segments, which reveal how a person’s value system and beliefs shape their engagement patterns and the type of messaging they are receptive to.

Andrew discusses how psychographics help to understand deep-seated values and cultural beliefs and the role people perceive culture will play in their lives. 

We talk about COVID-19, the online experience for the different segments and what he believes organisations should focus on moving forward. Stay tuned toward the end of the episode for a new segment where I share the most clicked item in our latest newsletter and why people found it so interesting. 

LINKS

Andrew’s Twitter: @mhmandrew 

MHM Culture Segments https://mhminsight.com/culture-segments

‘The Unusual Suspects’ Data Warehouse R&D Report 

Digital R&D Fund Data Guide

Andrew’s thought leadership series ‘Culture in Lockdown’: 

PART 1: We can do digital, can we do strategy? 

PART 2: The 7 Pillars of Audience-focus 

PART 3: Covid Audience Mindsets 

Creative Victoria Audience Atlas

Audience Outlook Monitor Australia - Key Findings March 2021 

The NFT craze, explained in the Los Angeles Times 

Supported by Creative Victoria, Theory of Creativity Season 2 is focussed on 'Real Change and Renewal'. Tune in on the first Tuesday of the month as Patternmakers Managing Director Tandi Palmer Williams speaks with experts in audience trends, strategic planning, organisational change and resilience. 

CONNECT

Connect with Tandi Palmer Williams:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tandiwilliams/

Instagram: @thepatternmakers

Twitter: @tandi_will

Facebook: @thepatternmakers.com.au
Visit the website of research agency Patternmakers: https://www.thepatternmakers.com.au/

Stay in the loop with all the latest research, tools and resources for growing cultural organisations. Subscribe for the monthly Culture Insight & Innovation Updates: http://eepurl.com/gnwrUf 

The pandemic has been a crisis on many levels. What started out as a health crisis, Covid made waves throughout the globe, hitting us with massive social and economic implications. With many arts and cultural institutions completely shut down, cultural professionals have been forced to rethink how they work and what role they play in people’s lives. 

In the midst of the loss and unknown, the pandemic has presented us with a great opportunity to reflect on what really matters. In this space, organisations have begun to transform the role they play in their communities, bringing about fundamental change and addressing critical issues such as inequality and social justice.

In this episode, I’m joined by Steven Wolff, Director of AMS Planning & Research, an organisation committed to the value of arts, culture, and entertainment in communities. Steven discusses the importance of cultural ‘anchor institutions’ and how their success should be measured by the quantum of entanglement with their communities.

We explore the role these institutions play in communities and what successful anchor institutions will look like post-pandemic. Steven talks about switching the question from focusing on the “what” to the “why” we do what we do, and shares some practical advice for what people in director roles can start doing to make this shift.

We discuss how vital institutions aren’t defined by their scale but by how entangled they are in their communities, what this looks like and what some cultural institutions have been doing to take advantage of the opportunities that this crisis has presented.

This episode is absolutely jam-packed with inspiring, thought-provoking and really vital discussion for the time we are in. We explore the tools, techniques and ideas we can harness to build a thriving arts and culture sector post-pandemic. Who knows, we may even herald in the next renaissance.
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Supported by Creative Victoria, Theory of Creativity Season 2 is focussed on 'Real Change and Renewal'. Tune in on the first Tuesday of the month as Patternmakers Managing Director Tandi Palmer Williams speaks with experts in audience trends, strategic planning, organisational change and resilience.

LINKS:

Steven’s Paper “The Long Runway”: https://www.ams-online.com/long-runway/ 

The strategic triangle: https://www.anzsog.edu.au/resource-library/news-media/the-strategic-triangle-how-to-approximate-a-compelling-measure-of-public-value-in-government 

AMS Website:https://www.ams-online.com/

CONNECT:

Connect with Tandi Palmer Williams:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tandiwilliams/

Instagram: @thepatternmakers

Twitter: @tandi_will

Facebook: @thepatternmakers.com.au

Visit the website of research agency Patternmakers:https://www.thepatternmakers.com.au/

Stay in the loop with all the latest research, tools and resources for growing cultural organisations. Subscribe for the monthly Culture Insight & Innovation Updates: http://eepurl.com/gnwrUf 

• Why audience experience is at the core of why organisations receive public funding
• How qualitative research puts the humanity into research and why it’s a good idea to have arts professionals sit in on research groups
• The techniques that arts professionals can use to more intensely explore the audience experience
• How the gap between booking a ticket and seeing a show can be used to create greater audience value
• How arts organisations develop their customer knowledge, customer empathy and audience sensibility
• The five-step process of Design Thinking that organisation can apply
• How arts organisations can find their core purpose through conversation, art and creativity exercises
• Why thinking about extracting value from the market is the putting the cart before the horse
• Why arts organisations should ‘do their homework’ about what’s going on in their communities
• How arts organisations can understand their operating context and the aspirations of their visitors

• How cost benefit analysis differs from impact analysis and why cost benefit analysis helps people make better decisions
• Why economics the best way for Treasuries to measure benefit compared to social research or qualitative research
• “Lobbynomics” and how economic analysis is used in lobbying and advocacy to recast an organisation’s narrative
• Why technology is now at the core of every challenge
• How to appeal to the bureaucratic heart and the political heart in order to advocate effectively
• What the current constrained economic environment means for the arts
• Why consumer demand for experiences rather than material goods has affected the market
• How a more globalised world can result in government choosing to consolidate funding in the culture and creative sector
• The power of specilisation in showing defined value and how that can assist with funding.

• Why ‘conversations’ are replacing ‘marketing’ in arts organisations
• How cultural leaders are different to leaders in other industries
• Why the power of your vision is the key to mobilising resources
• One powerful tip for becoming a stronger leader and enabling people to flourish
• Why today’s cultural organisations need to be platforms for other people’s creativity
• How to turn uncomfortable moments into fuel for innovation
• Culture organisations need to be committed to understanding their past, present and future audiences
• How to think about measuring intrinsic and instrumental value
• Why you should think carefully about your goal before you apply any tool or technique