Rethinking the Role of British Art Institutions

In this article The Guardian theatre critic Lynn Gardiner makes a compelling argument for the need for arts institutions to change the way that they relate to their communities, drawing on several examples of innovative British arts organizations:

"The danger is that unless theatre embraces a wider civic role, it will simply come to be seen as increasingly out of touch and elitist. Not for me or for you but for us.

How can theatres and other arts organizations fulfill a civic role, engage with their communities, and find different ways to be fully embedded in their locale? How can they start behaving less like monasteries and more like town squares, a place to which everyone has access, and everyone is welcome? A town or village square is the social hub for community, rooted in a particular place and also potentially a space of learning, debate, and opportunity.

To move in this direction, theatres need to get out of the arts silos: democratizing the way they work, the way their spaces are used, and the way they welcome people in and go out to meet them."

Read the full article here