Governance and distributed leadership
It’ll probably come as no surprise that I’m having a lot of conversations about the past, present and future of governance. I’m so pleased that Aspex appointed Co-Chairs as part of my succession planning as Chair. Northern Broadsides have shared their approach to distributed leadership.
Why this? Many cultural organisations face leadership transitions, capacity pressures and complex governance demands. Distributed leadership models can increase resilience, reduce dependence on individuals and support more sustainable decision-making structures.
What to watch: Boards and leadership teams experimenting with shared authority, co-chairs and non-hierarchical structures.
Relevance: power & policy; practice & people
The Week in Art
If you’re short of reading time and you haven’t already come across it, the Week in Art podcast is a good listen.
Why this? Curated listening can keep you informed, support strategic awareness and broaden sector perspective.
What to watch: Growing reliance on curated intelligence formats as time pressures increase.
Relevance: Practice & people
https://www.theartnewspaper.com/series/the-week-in-art
Open and Trusting grant-making
A call to funders to adopt more open and trusting approaches to their grant-making. It might be worth signing up to their newsletter if you’re interested.
Why this? Administrative burden and compliance pressures continue to strain organisations. Trust-based funding models are needed to reduce overhead, strengthen relationships and improve sector sustainability.
What to watch: Whether more funders adopt flexible reporting, longer-term funding and relational approaches.
Relevance: Money & survival, power & policy
London Writers Centre: Wellcome Collection Non-Fiction awards
A great opportunity for underrepresented writers.
A free online information session will be run on Monday 2 March, 7pm-8pm, for people considering applying for the Wellcome Collection Non-Fiction Awards. The session will be BSL interpreted. Register for the seminar here.
Why this? Targeted opportunities addressing representation remain essential for widening participation and diversifying cultural production.
What to watch: Continued emphasis on access, inclusion and structural support for emerging voices.
Relevance: Practice & people
Graphic Rewilding
I challenge you not to smile when you see this work.
As an artistic counterbalance to urban life, we create vast, nature inspired, attention grabbing public art in unexpected spaces.
Why this? Public art that reconnects urban spaces with nature reflects growing interest in wellbeing, environment and shared civic experience. Cultural work is increasingly intersecting with ecological awareness and place-making.
What to watch: continuing expansion of collaborations between artists, environmental initiatives and public space programmes.
Relevance: Practice & people
Laura Lima: The Drawing Drawing
ICA, 27th January – 29th March
Brazilian artist Laura Lima invites visitors into a world where bodies, objects and spaces interact unpredictably. Central to the exhibition is a new installation that reimagines the life drawing class, encouraging public participation while challenging traditional rules of perspective, representation and mastery.
Why this? Participatory and experiential practices continue to challenge traditional boundaries between audience and artist, reflecting broader shifts towards co-creation and engagement.
What to watch: Institutions experimenting with participation as both artistic method and audience strategy.
Relevance: Practice & people
This week’s themes
Leadership and governance models are evolving, with distributed approaches gaining traction.
Trust and relationships are becoming central structural concerns; in funding, leadership and collaboration.
Participation and access remain key drivers of cultural relevance, from funding opportunities to artistic practice.
Cultural work continues to intersect with wider social concerns, including environment, wellbeing and representation.
In case you were wondering the themes are a retrospective distillation, the collections are made during the week on a truly random basis!