Today's meeting

Image above. This is how your exhibition space looks at the moment. I hope you are checking what works and what doesnt.

I was very aware that as there was a low turnout this morning there could be problems. Any joint enterprise is fraught with difficulties, most of which stem from poor communication. It did seem that the main problem is who can take responsibility and in what form does that responsibility take? So perhaps a little reflection on stakeholders and why we have such a complex system of laws is needed.

Every joint venture will have stakeholders. At the start it's always a good idea to set out who those people are, what everyone gets out of the venture should be detailed and that means everyone. The people who own the Bond St Centre, the people who work in there, (cleaners, security guards, health and safety officers etc) other people who use it (shop keepers, shoppers etc) college staff, students and their immediate social group.
You might have noticed when we did a tour of the site before Easter I made a special point of talking to the security guards. From that conversation I found out that they also deal with H & S and that in case of emergencies there is a central control with a telephone number and that it is there that keys are kept. I was aware that the security guards are stakeholders in this and at sometime you may need their help. If you have started a dialogue with them well before opening, they are on your side. Their stake in this is that they have to work as security guards during the time of the show. Any trouble and they have to solve it. If you look at what had happened with the last show in the old TK Max space, security people were already annoyed and starting to believe that art events are not a good thing. I.e. people smoking, bottles being left everywhere, no one clearing up, no one available first thing in the morning to deal with shoppers wandering into the space etc. This also will eventually get back to the owners of the centre. The property developers would have initially have been persuaded that the gifting of spaces to arts groups was a good idea as it kept those spaces in the public eye and raised their profile. But that goodwill is easy to lose and all it takes is an irate member of the public complaining and they can pull the plug.
However the stakeholders of immediate concern are your peer group and already I have the feeling that difficulties are not being tackled. The main issue is that a small group is taking responsibility for organising, communicating and generally supporting the development of the show. They feel open to criticism by those not in that group and also that others are not pulling weight or worse not accepting decisions made by the steering group and arguing over the right of a steering group to make decisions on their behalf.
I’m afraid this is a common situation. This is why stakeholder agreements are drawn up at the start of enterprises like this. People sign these and if they do not agree, then they don’t take part.
For instance communication is as I have stated usually at the core of problems. Because there was no initial agreement as to communication protocols, no one is sure how to communicate with other people. Is it e mail, if so have all members agreed to read their e mail and how frequently? If by text message has everyone signed to say that the number to text is their current number and that they are responsible for responding to messages sent? If by message board are people agreeing to be in college on a regular basis and being responsible for reading messages. You can’t let people get away with saying “I didn’t know about it”. There should be no excuse for ignorance. So get protocols set.
As to the authority of the steering group. This is usually agreed and signed by all. What do different stakeholders get out of this? Well those on the steering group get experience of real world projects; negotiation, working with publicity, organisation etc. etc. Those outside the steering group get more time to focus on their individual work. This is the trade off, but it has to be agreed. People who are spending more time on their own stuff, can’t expect to come in at the last minute and complain about their space. However the steering group needs to make sure it has considered the needs of the whole group and has set up effective systems to find out what requirements are. Again these systems are usually agreed. The overarching theme of the show is agreed to be ……, the format for putting in proposals is…., deadlines for images are etc.
Other roles that need agreeing are responsibilities for hanging, technicianing, invigilation, cleaning, supervision, security, communication with the public etc. What are people getting out of this and if they are not prepared to do it, do they lose out on space? Again agreements are usually signed off.
This all seems very authoritarian and freeform structures are of course fantastic. But if you look at anarchist texts, at their core is the issue of personal responsibility. This is at times reinforced by the taking of oaths to the effect that you will not disabuse the group. Individualism leads to a breakdown in civil intercourse, which can be blamed for many of the evils in modern society. (See http://www.jrf.org.uk/publications/individualism-and-consumerism-reframing-debate ) The old idea of the individual genius is still however very powerful and as artists we are prone to fall for its seduction very easily. So be on your guard and take social responsibility for what you do. Your life can either be one of responsibility and commitment to something beyond yourself or a hedonistic ride. But free rides don’t last forever.