Risk taking needs to happen in the board room

In the old model artistic directors came up with risky ideas and boards applied brakes. But smart governance likes a little danger.
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Risk-taking is an intrinsic part of artistic practice. From a visual artist grappling with a new idea to a circus artist performing an aerial act high above the stage, risk is something all artists must embrace.

Arts organisations must also embrace risk, but this must be matched with the need for surety and stability – a balancing act that Boards, Executives and Committees of Management encounter every day.

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Richard Watts OAM is ArtsHub's National Performing Arts Editor; he also presents the weekly program SmartArts on Three Triple R FM. Richard is a life member of the Melbourne Queer Film Festival, a Melbourne Fringe Festival Living Legend, and was awarded the Sidney Myer Performing Arts Awards' Facilitator's Prize in 2020. In 2021 he received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Green Room Awards Association. Most recently, Richard received a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) in June 2024. Follow him on Twitter: @richardthewatts