At the What Next? conference in London on 29 April, Sir Ken Robinson offered his support to the movement via a video link from Los Angeles.
He spoke with typical assuredness and clarity for 15 minutes and made a number of pertinent points, not least the importance of not conflating the idea of ‘culture’ with that of the ‘arts’.
Citing the demise of Kodak as an example, he had some particularly insightful points to make about the relevance and adaptability of arts organisations.
“Human communities, including arts organisations, are like organisms, they’re not like mechanisms,” he said. “Institutions are deceptive in that sense. They’re not the bricks and mortar and they’re not permanent either.
“Institutions and organisations exist in the actions and activities and minds and values and passions and beliefs of the people who populate them. Organisations come and go – even the greatest arts organisations are prone to fade away eventually if the spark, the vitality, doesn’t stay alive within them.”
If you have quarter of an hour to spare, his full talk is worth a listen.
For more information on the What Next? movement, visit www.whatnextculture.co.uk
