Every arts organisation should have a practicing artist on their board. That is to say, a living, breathing, shitting, ink-under-the-fingernails, paint-on-the-boots, Elastoplasted-from-playing-with-materials artist. One who does this stuff, day to day, to try to earn a living.

Artists think differently. They don’t just think sideways – they think up, down, left, right (and all points inbetween). They don’t just think outside the box – they interrogate the very notion of a box, deconstruct it, make something new. 

And this is why you need a working artist. Boards are clogged up with ‘I used to be an…’ artists and their brains, without the day to day exercise, may have some memory muscle of artist problem-solving, but it’s not the same thing.

Artists behave differently. 

Artists bring people together. They understand that all the advances that brought us from ape to homo sapiens were because we cooperated and acted collectively. Survival isn’t of the fittest: a single ant is stupid and weak, a nest of them clever and strong. Every group show is a collective effort, every open studio part of a trail. Every artist has helped a studio neighbour to move something. 

Artists are adaptable. If a painter is poor, they’ll use the leftover paint and primed cardboard, rather than the best phthalo blue and perfect canvas. Artists carry on. That’s sustainable. They’ll see ways to flex, adapt, and survive that administrators will miss.

Artists are workers. Most Artists earn £5000-£10,000 a year from their practice so should be paid for time spent on your board, and for preparation time. This ensures all artists have the opportunity to join a board, learn leadership skills, and contribute effectively. You get a diverse board with fresh and effective thinking. 

Man Overboard! Artists will leave boards. They should – three year terms are a good way to refresh the board. But at some point you will lose an artist early. It may be they leave after a disagreement, or that they are overloaded with other work, or problems of their own. Be kind – thank them loudly and in public, give them a gift when they leave, consider them as a future ally not a fresh enemy.


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