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Arts for Policy Making – conclusions by Venu Dhupa

klarjomaa — Wed, 13 Dec 2017 15:24:32 +0000

Arts for Policy Making – conclusions by Venu Dhupa

What role should the arts and creative sectors and people active within them have in creating our future? Creative and Inclusive Finland organised a seminar called Arts for Policy Making in Helsinki, Finland, on December 11, 2017. The seminar consisted of a keynote speech by Venu Dhupa, commentary by Jyrki Kangas and three workshops.

From the fruitful discussions of the afternoon, Venu Dhupa drew eight conclusions in the form of notions, declarations or questions:

1. We should not think of leaders that need to fit a 'Platonic' ideal. Leadership is about context. This is why judgement is so important.

2. We need to think about our education system and the experienes we are offering our students: thought Labs, interdisciplinary projects? Our current systems are based on a bit of an outdated perception of creativity.

3. Our best and brightest need to put themselves into other sectors and propagate creativity outside their comfort zone.

4. Is our arts / creative education system preparing us for a different kind of world? Or to work in different country contexts?

5. Arts should be integral.

6. We need to think about teaching people how to sell ideas rather than only having them. Many good ideas don't make it, because they are not sold well – we need to teach the '10 words or less' test.

7. How can we change things? Bottom up or Top down. The discussion group thought top down, but probably both are important.

8. Creativity is not by attendance it is by attainment. This means that if you put 100 children through a creativity programme it doesnt mean they will all come out creative. It is not about them going on the programme, but what each child might take away from it. The quality of reflection and application is important.

More information:

Venu Dhupa is a world-renowned speaker, lecturer and consultant, who has lead and executed a number of ambitious and successful programs dedicated to furthering holistic thinking and the role of leadership, arts / cultural knowledge within different sectors of our societies. She is director, VSDB Consultancy, Visiting Professor at School of Art and Design and Nottingham Trent University. She’s been Director Arts for the British Council, Creative Scotland as Director of Creative Development. Fellowships include Director at NESTA, the UKs National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts where she managed a portfolio value of £13million; She was appointed as the inaugural Chair of the East Midlands Cultural Consortium by the Secretary of State at the DCMS.

More about Venu Dhupa: www.venudhupa.com

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Interview with Venu Dhupa: Towards whole-system leadership

klarjomaa — Mon, 13 Nov 2017 13:20:41 +0000

Interview with Venu Dhupa: Towards whole-system leadership

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Creative people are used to living at the fringes, dealing with uncertainty and lingering between jobs, gigs or projects. They can’t lean on hierarchical structures or titles in order to get hired for the next exciting role in a movie or play. Neither can they leave their persona at home when going to work. Their identity, their brand is part of who they are – in good and bad.

In today’s society to run an ethical enterprise successfully, for true social change, it is not enough to master your profession and expertise in your own field. You need to be prepared to be vulnerable, by revealing your ignorance, using wrong terminology or listening to a conversation you don’t quite get. It requires courage and building trust with the people you work with, and in the end, being ok with one’s own vulnerability.

Taking risks is part of the picture. To get to grips with ‘whole-system leadership’ in today’s society you have to go outside your own sector, and see your enterprise (or some other form of entity) in relation to the bigger picture. At the same time it means becoming more aware of what you don’t know in relation to your own expertise. We cannot be experts at everything, but can acquire the skills to work with areas we are not familiar with. This is one of the key elements to getting to grips with whole-system leadership.

There are many current issues, which increase the sense of uncertainty for many of us. Like the introduction of automation, robots or artificial intelligence. Or the new, demand-based open services like Uber. Or the services that bring the speed of delivery to new dimensions like Amazon Prime. New business models and services are rushing markets at a speed and traditional management and operating processes cannot keep up, let alone be pro-active. We feel like we’re slipping to the fringes, along with fears of losing our businesses, our positions or jobs. Or just being excluded.

We come back to the question of what can we learn from creative people for today’s business life or society as a whole. Perhaps I would say that key elements are getting used to living at the fringes, dealing with emotions of uncertainty and not feeling we have to be the expert of everything as a leader. Realizing and developing skills through which we can include different kinds of knowledge and hence different kinds of people will drive innovation.

In order to not come across saying artists and the “creatives” will save the world (or one’s business), I want to mention some draw-backs which can be typical to creative people. They have a reputation of being divas, perhaps because they have always felt the need to justify their position they have to regard what they do as something very special, almost magical. Hence, they become aloof. Many might have a low interest for the practicalities of running an enterprise, regarding it as something outside their core competence or somehow pedestrian.

The openness, connectivity and speed of the world however effect not only the “traditional” sectors, but the realms of the arts and artists as well. Time will tell how they will be met by the different actors in our society. All in all I do think that the arts and creative people have a lot of traits and competencies that are vital in order to not just cope, but flourish in today’s society. But perhaps most of all – it is the ability to see beyond our own limitations, to validate our identity when other options let us down and to include people with different skills to work for a better, uncertain tomorrow.

Text: Silja Suntola, Creative and Inclusive Finland

Venu Dhupa was interviewed on November 6, 2017 for the purpose of the upcoming publication by Creative and Inclusive Finland. The publication will be released in December 2017. For more information, please follow www.cifinland.fi.

Venu Dhupa will serve as the keynote speaker of our event Arts for Policy Making, organised in Helsinki on December 11, 2017. More information: www.cifinland.fi/artsforpolicymaking

NordMatch 2017 in 5 keywords

klarjomaa — Tue, 31 Oct 2017 09:59:13 +0000

NordMatch 2017 in 5 keywords

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On October 26–27, the 4th edition of the seminar NordMatch under the theme “Together for Inclusion” took place at the Arcada University of Applied Sciences (UAS) in Helsinki, Finland. This major event was organized mainly by Creative and Inclusive Finland, a program that funds projects and promotes the employment of people in cultural and creative sectors and the inclusion of youth through the learning of new skills. Other partners came along the 2-day journey, among them Metropolia UAS, Luckan (The Finland-Swedish Information and Cultural Centre) and the City of Helsinki. Two days to gather and talk, brainstorm and get inspired, to listen and speak up. As a first-timer in attending such an event, I honestly did not know what to expect when, on the first morning, I was glancing at my name tag, wondering what professionals of the cultural and artistic field would expect from a student in social services.

In short: Two days, more than 200 participants (students and professionals), 12 partners, 1 place, 8 countries, 1 common goal.

Now that the exhilaration and excitement resulting from the seminar have cooled off, I can start to reflect on what were the 5 main keywords that can be shared with you, to give you a spoonful of the delicious atmosphere I have had the privilege to taste in NordMatch 2017.

1. Inspiration

In total, 11 intervenants from 8 different countries came to present their current, or about to be realized, projects or structures. Estonia, Norway, Iceland, Lithuania, Latvia, Sweden, Finland and Denmark were represented. Professionals and students from various fields and focusing on different target groups or methods came on stage to tell about their cause. The panel of projects was eclectic and stimulating: from the wonderful creations of the Latvian Society for the Blind for the integration of impaired individuals, to an exciting one-week festival in Iceland where children are given the total freedom to take over the news and become journalists for the occasion, those presentations were the opportunity to experiment a moment filled with hopes, ambitions and achievements. Various methods, goals, locations, fundings, reasons, motivations were disclosed, all unique and carried by the hard work of individuals who want to believe in a better world. One common goal however emerged from those presentations: if you want to build up a project and you have faith in it, go for it, don’t give up.

2. Cross-sectoring

Another aim of the event was to gather people from different sectors to team up and work together: students and professionals from cultural, social and humanities disciplines were invited to share time together, mingling, networking, asking about each other. By creating, in a safe space for dialogue and progress, a possibility to brainstorm, to develop projects and to join strengths, NordMatch was an ideal event to find out that each person has something to bring to a team.

3. Advisory Ring

During the seminar, we have had the opportunity to learn a method on how to build up a project in teams. It has been demonstrated that the ideal number of participants is 7 (uneven and enough) and that the members can be from different sectors and backgrounds. The ring happens in a determined time with no phones, no disturbance, in a quiet room, with food and water available. It can be held in a long version (1 hour/participant): 15 min to pitch a project or ideas, 45 minutes of positive feedbacks boosting the project from the other participants. Then, a 10-minute break, without the permission to talk any longer about what has just been said. Then, the next participant starts pitching his/her own ideas. In a shorter version: 3 minutes to pitch, 15 minutes feedbacks and boosting, 1 minute break. We have used the short version, then voted for the best idea, which has been presented the next day in front of financiers. The winner (Tobias Grünfelder: The Magic of Diversity) won a 3000 euros price, to start his project.

This amazing method develops creativity, teamwork and confidence. Getting positive feedback for an idea that might have sounded crazy at first is rewarding, and helps to consider new perspectives.

4. Pitching

The second day, we participated to a workshop on how to pitch effectively an idea in front of a panel of financiers, to raise funds and get a project started. It was interesting to get a chance to learn how to “sell” an idea, to actually think about costs and investments, to rehearse and get feedbacks. Especially for students, I think this part of the program was new and a little bit scary at first, but a useful tool and a definitely needed skill for the future.

5. Ambition(s)

Probably the concept I did not expect to encounter during the seminar. Of course, I was thinking that the ambition of the professionals presenting the cases, or other experts, would be on display and shown as an example. However, I did not imagine that my own ambitions would be challenged, praised and encouraged. A huge emphasis has been put on how much every idea counts, as surrealistic as it may seem at first. The positive attitude of the organizers and peers, the safe space to express yourself and be heard, have been a fantastic boost on a personal level regarding my capacities to elaborate a project in the future and to believe in it. I wish each one of us could experience that feeling, and get the confidence to make up a team and actually start working on “crazy” ideas to make them real.

NordMatch has been a great experience, stimulating and creative, where imagination and resources met, where teamwork and good atmosphere made sense. An experience I can only recommend to everyone. Oh, and of course, not to mention the refreshing party too, to release the minds after a long day of brainstorming.

Text: Julie Furter, Social Services, Metropolia University of Applied Sciences, Helsinki

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