Transforming Anchor Institutions with Steven Wolff

Theory of Creativity

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/

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