And another thing: duty of care

Our arts, cultural and other for-purpose sectors are designed to put others first – but we’re much better at doing so for our audiences and constituents than we are for ourselves.

This month’s ‘and another thing’ vlog for my Patreon followers uses the examples of the Voice to Parliament referendum, ethical fundraising and our ‘post’-pandemic workforce crisis to talk about Board members’ duty of care to their organisations, teams and each other.

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Beyond the governance gaps

Past and present board members and those who support our boards—I want to thank you. In the machine of arts, cultural and not-for-profit governance you are one of our most necessary cogs: legislated, expected and required. From statutory authorities to volunteer-run collectives, you underpin all of our work.

The skills you must wield are varied and plentiful, yet your presence, consideration and time receive little or no remuneration—and often little thanks. But your work is a literal gift, an extraordinary, mandated generosity—without which our organisations would not be allowed to exist.

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National reading symposium wrap-up

Australia is a nation of readers, with reading the second most popular way we engage with art, culture and creativity (after listening to recorded music). Yet 44% of us have low or very low literacy, 25% haven’t read a book in the last year, and recent research shows a 7% drop in the number of young people reading for pleasure.

Nearly double the number of Australians engage in reading every week than playing or watching sport, but sport takes place in the public realm and is so is seen as more integral to and defining of the Australian identity – including receiving significantly more investment.

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And another thing: less is (still) necessary

On the one-year anniversary of my #LessIsNecessary campaign, my latest instalment of ‘and another thing’ is about our ongoing workforce crisis and the regressive nonsense of employers wanting to punish workers for standing up for their rights.

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And another thing: Zoom fatigue and our hybrid future

When Zoom has Zoom fatigue, what hope is there for the rest of us? This month’s ‘and another thing’ vlog talks about the depressing trend of employers ditching digital ways of working and the importance of fighting for a more hybrid future.

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Doing it differently: fit-for-purpose governance models

I enjoyed rabble-rousing about how we could (and should) be doing governance differently with Cecilia Anthony and Diversity Arts Australia’s Lena Nahlous for Creative Australia’s Governance Conversations webinar series in July 2023. 

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And another thing: let’s all take Mondays off

t’s time for us to reject the idea that too-much-work-for-too-little-pay is a problem our sector can’t solve. This month’s ‘and another thing’ vlog talks about why and how we could make it happen).

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