Learning from Culture in Crisis with Ben Walmsley

Theory of Creativity

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.

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