For the longest time, this summit was called the ‘Keeping the Lights On’ day. At its heart, that’s really what it’s about.
Amid the swirl of expectations that every arts organisation should be the best it can possibly be at meeting every single person’s unique expectations, I have found myself wishing there was space for grounded and practical conversations on how to keep going – how to build the strongest possible financial foundation for the arts.
When it comes to the financial security of the arts, I think for many cultural leaders there are two big questions that are never far from our minds:
What can I do to make my organisation more secure?
What can we do together to make our sector more secure?
At this summit, we want to spend as much time talking to each other in constructive group conversations and round tables as we do hearing presentations from experts and other presenters. Solutions can come from anywhere.
Solutions can come from anywhere
This Arts Professional summit is created in association with Baker Richards. We are a sector that thrives on data, and in recent years, Baker Richards have:
- Supported the Culture Restart research programme during the pandemic
- Collaborated with Arts Professional on big sector research like Arts Pay
- Produced Universally Accessible, research into the most price sensitive audiences in society
- Collaborated with the Association of Leading Visitor Attractions to understand family engagement with days out
In each case, a vital principle has been openness – there should be a level playing field for information and discussion. This event is also created in that spirit.
We know and celebrate that there are many essential Zoom groups, networks, podcasts and newsletters existing in this space. We also know that not everyone is on the inside. Deeply entrenched hierarchies sustain, and are sustained, by the way we share knowledge and power in our sector. At Business of the Arts, we know that solutions can come from anywhere, so we want to hear from everyone.
Big questions, and no despair
I expect we’ll chew over some big questions together. What if political changes really do mean there’s major jeopardy ahead for funding and control of the arts, as we’ve seen in other countries? What if business model optimisation isn’t enough to keep the lights on, particularly at midscale? What if there’s disconnect between the work we want to make, and the work that people want from us?
There is only one answer that’s forbidden at Business of the Arts – and that’s despair. Our resourceful, knackered, brilliant, stressed, ingenious and brutally overworked sector is finding its way through challenges, as it has always done. This day is a moment for leaders from all artforms and all parts of organisations to look up from the day to day and find some signposts for the road ahead.
There is no shortage of prescriptions and possible solutions for our sector. Sometimes it feels like everyone is ambitious for the arts – but not everyone has to balance the books. So how do we keep the lights on, and grow the business of the arts?
Join us at Conway Hall, London, on Wednesday 13 May, as Arts Professional turns 25, to talk business models. Please do share your thoughts, and your solutions.
Photo by Juan Carlos Becerra on Unsplash