English Art/Literary Art, Arts & Crafts, Painting

Innovation and risk are therefore both distinct from one another and intrinsically linked. The distinction comes from the fact that innovation is a constant process, which should be part of an organisation’s core business whilst risk is a means to a particular end. Both are linked to the concept of excellence. For something to be excellent it has to be relevant, and for it to be relevant it has to be continually reinterpreted and refined for and by its audience. Risks have to be taken, innovation must be central to the process.

I see three issues at the heart of how to encourage a wider and deeper engagement with the arts. The first is an unwillingness by many to engage at all. The notion that the arts are not for everyone must be tackled head-on, since excellent art is by definition for, and relevant to, absolutely everyone. The second issue is, once the initial barrier of engagement has been overcome, how to maximise culture’s potential to change lives. To do this, audiences must be drawn into it. The third is that too many organisations are trying to second-guess what their audiences want and are therefore cheating them out of the deepest and most meaningful experiences.

As I have said, I believe that to be excellent, the arts must be relevant. However I am concerned that there is still a large portion of the population who believe the arts are not for them and that they are neither relevant nor accessible. The ‘it’s not for me’ syndrome, combined with high ticket prices in many cultural organisations has conspired to put off many potential audience members and exclude them from experiences that could transform their lives.

WHAT IS THE MEANING OF RELEVANT HERE?
USEFUL
PERTINENT
CONCERNING...