When arts boards panic and become reactive, they lose clarity and predictive governance suffers, Anna Spargo Ryan writes for the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
I was interviewed about the backlash to the Adelaide Writers Week programming change that led to the cancellation of the 2026 festival.
…
Where boards are not managing to do it so well, some experts feel an element of inevitability.
Kate Larsen, an arts, cultural and non-profit consultant and writer, says arts boards are dealing with issues of unprecedented magnitude and frequency. “In many ways, we’re at the eye of a perfect storm many years in the making,” she says. “They’re being hammered from inside and outside, so bad decisions are made. We can assume they didn’t have bad intentions, but they’re causing harm regardless, then doubling down and causing more harm. It’s understandable, but completely unnecessary.”
…
Clarity and predictive governance are powerful tools against arts crises, but Larsen says boards in this sector are fighting against structural issues.
“We have fewer people dealing with more complex and more frequent issues, while they’re personally more burnt-out than ever before, within a more challenging operating environment, while being actively lobbied by third parties,” she says. “Australia’s NFP incorporation and governance models were always unfit for purpose and they are setting our organisations up to fail.”
As a result, some organisations are rushing their governance decision making, pushed to prioritise panicked crisis management even where guiding principles do exist.
“If we had a broader governance ecology, we would be more confident in who we need to listen to at times of crisis,” says Larsen. “It’s not necessarily the loudest voice. It’s not even necessarily the largest group of people. Instead, it’s the group of people closest to their purpose. Talking about purpose-led practices is an old-fashioned idea now, but one that these organisations have forgotten.”
Read more on the AICD website.
Further reading: Palestine as a governance issue
Check out all of the articles and resources in my series on Palestine as a governance issue.
AI policy
I am a concerned and conscientious objector to the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies. You can read more about my many objections in my recent piece on raining on the parade of generative AI in the arts (and everywhere else).
If you consume or use my work or writing, you can be sure that the creativity, labour and language that goes into it are either my own or drawn from the wisdom of the clever humans I reference or cite, and that I do not intentionally use Al to research, generate or edit in any part of my writing or publishing processes.
Subscribe or support
I undertake the majority of my research, writing, advocacy and sector development work on a self-funded basis.
If you’d like the full versions, transcripts or archives of these rants, you can join me as an advocate, ally or accomplice for rethinking arts governance on Patreon from just $2.50/month.
Or subscribe to my free occasional enews for future updates.
LARSEN | KEYS 