Sir Brian McMaster’s report ‘Supporting Excellence in the Arts – from measurement to judgement’ is, on the whole, a very welcome breath of fresh air. If McMaster’s recommendations are taken on board, the arts will find themselves in a new age of self-assessment and peer evaluation. In order to engage effectively in such a culture, arts organisations will have to articulate clear strategic objectives, and before they can do that their artistic visions, ambitions and intentions will need to be in a shareable form. They’ll also need to become involved in meaningful critical analysis and debate – an arena that many find a challenge.
McMaster says “funding bodies must move to a new assessment method based on self-assessment and peer review that focuses on objective judgements about excellence, innovation and risk-taking”. McMaster is clear that in self-assessment, progress must be measured against an organisation’s stated objectives, and that the sector lacks a culture of rigorous and constructive self-assessment. Making judgements, analysing work and recognising excellence in the arts sector has never been a welcome range of activities, fraught as it is with the potential for debating theory and the subsequent successful avoidance of addressing the issues within the context of the art.
Sharing artistic vision
The first step in being able to articulate objectives, and evaluate oneself and one’s organisation against them, is to have a stated and shared artistic vision and mission. Objectives can only be developed once it is clear what the ambition, goal, desire, adrenalin-fuelled heartbeat (or vision) is; the objectives are simply what can make a vision real. Peer review and self-evaluation require written, shareable objectives, but many organisations find it a challenge to articulate their artistic visions and associated organisational objectives even internally: those typically produced may not stand up to much scrutiny.
As organisations struggle with this (conceptually, or through lack of time, confidence or skill), support is needed to enable them to describe their artistic vision and mission, determine the strategic objectives that will enable the delivery of the vision, describe team and individual objectives so everyone is clear how they contribute to the achievement of the vision, and agree project objectives. The results need to be tested to make sure that they are: meaningful to the organisation and true to the vision; genuinely SMART objectives (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time bound); and set in a simple framework so that the achievement of objectives can be satisfactorily measured by the organisation, its stakeholders, its peers and funders.
Towards critical analysis
This will enable us to enter a new realm of critical analysis as envisaged by McMaster. Few embrace this activity, as it is seen in the context of ‘criticism’ rather than ‘analysis’. I would suggest that there is far too little constructive critical debate within organisations. Until cultural organisations are comfortable with an effective internal process for measuring their achievements against their stated objectives, how can we expect them to participate openly and fruitfully in peer review?
Arts organisations therefore need support to develop internal debate about the art they create and deliver. Too often this is given a cursory place in team meetings, and few feel able to deal with it, sticking to budgets, future programme, and staffing issues. Boards are particularly averse to discussing the art: a crazy situation. McMaster calls for at least two artists or practitioners to be on the board of every cultural organisation, and this, in addition to conscientiously seeing the work and building critical awareness, may give the board the knowledge to have a debate on artistic matters. However, it may not give them the confidence to do so.
Building board confidence
Boards and staff need support in developing the techniques and processes for managing critical analysis and debate. This might include:
• Open forum role models. Some organisations might be comfortable enough to invite peers to a facilitated critical analysis debate to consider a work in progress, or a finished piece. This might be for invitees only or for project partners, or for a wider group as appropriate.
• Facilitated internal organisational sessions (action learning) with all staff to discuss thoroughly a season or a particular piece of work, with the intention of leaving the organisation with the skills and confidence to facilitate future sessions in-house.
• Facilitated board discussions, giving permission to engage in artistic debate, and putting the art firmly and permanently onto the board agenda.
• Production of good practice guidelines for organisations wanting to undertake critical analysis without a physical external facilitator.
• Making better use of audiences attending after-show talks, and using these events to get the information you really need to hear.
• Support for a range of organisational development activities that meet this need head-on.
Artists and audience
If we are to move beyond simplistic targets and instead “appreciate the profound value of art and culture” as McMaster suggests, we need to be able to describe that value, find the words that make that value apparent. Listening to artists talk about their work can be utterly inspiring. The ability to do this inevitably comes more naturally to some than others and improves with experience and confidence. Inspiring examples can offer a starting point for organisations which are unclear how to proceed in describing their vision and developing effective internal critical discussion.
McMaster recommends that artists, practitioners and cultural organisations need to explore ways of communicating more effectively with their audiences, and that digital technology may provide the tool for delivering the message. But technology doesn’t create the message, and this should be the primary focus – getting cultural organisations to develop, articulate, own and share their artistic message is a process and is not a given.
TMPL has championed this ‘vision-down’ approach in its work for many years. We know how hard it can be to start on this journey, but also how very rewarding in that it ensures an absolute focus to the work of an organisation, clarity for everyone who works for it, a clear sense of achievement, purpose and direction, and significantly improved communication. It results in a healthy, learning organisation, one fit for self-assessment and peer review.
Published in ArtsProfessional issue 174, 14 July 2008
