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It’s a common assumption that three to five years is the ideal tenure in a creative role in the arts industry; any longer, and you risk running out of fresh ideas and repeating yourself, the supposition goes. But not everyone agrees.
In a recent interview with ArtsHub in which she discussed knowing when it’s time to go, Kate Cherry, outgoing Artistic Director of Black Swan State Theatre Company, noted that Artistic Directors of major companies tend to stick around for significantly longer periods than many of their sector colleagues.
‘I’ve been there nine years, which for an Artistic Director of a state theatre company is not unusual; they tend to be 10 to 12 year tenures. If you think about Richard Mills, I think he was [at West Australian Opera] about 15 years, Neil Armfield was 17 [at Belvoir] and I think Simon [Phillips, former MTC AD] was about 12 … and [the Australian Chamber Orchestra’s] Richard Tognetti’s been there for over two decades!’ said Cherry.
Clearly, different roles require longer periods of commitment than others – but after the novelty has worn off, how do you stay engaged and excited? Is there a secret to keeping yourself focused and motivated when you’re in it for the long haul? Below, your colleagues answer that question.
Emma Smith, Senior Registrar, Art Gallery of New South Wales
‘The first thing to say is that I’ve never taken my role for granted. I only need ever wander through the collections of the Gallery: the atmospheric 19th Century Old Courts, the serene Asian Galleries, and the soulful Yiribana Gallery to appreciate what a special place the Gallery is and how incredibly fortunate I am to be part of a team managing its diverse and historical collection.
‘My day to day work at the Gallery involves communicating with curators, conservators, registration and photography staff. They are a hard working group of inspiring and engaging people who are deeply committed to their roles. To be part of a team involved in such creative and significant work is very motivating.
‘Staying focused after a long while at one institution has been surprisingly easy. Caring for artworks that are not only valuable but so diverse in their content, keeps me engaged and on the ball. As you can imagine, mistakes of any nature would have disastrous results. So staying focussed and following process is essential.
‘The collection is forever moving and changing and this keeps my job fresh as well. For example, we have a very busy loans program to other galleries and acquisitions of new works for the Gallery. Each new acquisition brings its own unique challenge that keeps me purposeful. The latest challenge is storing and cataloguing digital art – we have to think creatively in this regard!
‘I’m also fortunate as my job, from time to time, entails accompanying artworks on loan to other institutions. During those trips I take full opportunity to discuss new or different art handling and storage methods with my peers, and I bring those ideas into our current work practice.
‘The scope of the job has changed over the years. There is far more due diligence now in public institutions than when I started working. This is a good thing because my role is constantly evolving as I stay abreast of the current registration processes of a 21st century art museum.
‘The institutional history and knowledge that a long term employee holds is valuable and sharing my experience and expertise with others keeps my job fresh and relevant as well. After 20 years, I still have great job satisfaction because I continue to feel very committed to the management of the Art Gallery of New South Wales’s extraordinary collection.’
Eva Di Cesare, Sandra Eldridge and Tim McGarry, co-founders, Monkey Baa Theatre Company
‘Monkey Baa was formed in 1997 by Eva, Tim and Sandie. We were three actors who were passionate about adaptation and creating theatre for young audiences. In 2016 we are coming on for almost 20 years of creating work for the company. So how do we stay fresh and creative? Well the company’s core raison d’etre of adapting Australian books for the stage has continued but the way that we create work, our creative roles within the company and the amount of work we do, has changed.
‘The company has grown and expanded over the years, especially with the 2012 move into the first purpose-built theatre for young audiences, The Lend Lease Darling Quarter Theatre. This move has precipitated a greater diversification for us as creative directors of the company, and the work we do together, individually and with other artists and companies. We now also create original works as well as adaptations. Last year, Sandie wrote her first play, The Unknown Soldier. This year, Eva is adapting Where the Streets Had A Name, Tim is developing an outdoor engagement piece, Conversations, and, Sandie is in development with Terror Bites. The Creative Directors are also collaborating on Diary of A Wombat and Morris Gleitzman’s epic saga, Once Then Now and After and have just opened The Peasant Prince, which embarks on a 38 venue tour of the country.
‘Our creative process in adaptation has grown over the years with us collaborating with other artists, companies and creative teams. This allows us to learn and expand the work and also keep in touch with future artists creating work. We address each work asking ourselves what creative process do we use here with this? How do we go about building this process and making this particular play? We bring in an outside dramaturge in all our works and often work with a movement director in the staging. We also collaborate with young people, our audiences, much more in our work now. Engaging in classrooms and with young people (as part of our Clever Monkeys Program) in the creation of work with workshops and in creative developments and feedback sessions in performance.
‘We recognise how important it is for us as artists to work outside of the company as actors or directors. Working with other artists and in other forms. We have, over the years, worked in and with companies in adult theatre and youth theatre, working on Performance Art pieces, in classical theatre, new Australian works, verbatim and at acting schools such as WAAPA. We have always where possible given one another the space to do workshops, to study and take up professional developments opportunities. This expands our artistic language and working methodology, we bring back our experiences and this in turn feeds into our work. It’s important to remain relevant.
‘All that said, the three of us do still continue to adapt work together, though now this is sometimes with just two of us at a time, with the third then coming in and feeding back and then another two continuing. We have over the years formed a special and unique language, we work much faster now and to an outside eye we would probably seem quite brutal with one another in our collaborative process; but our deep creative relationship and shared history means that we shortcut now and have built a trust and respect in one another’s creative point of view. The three of us are all very different yet together a magic happens that we are all aware of. It is still an immensely pleasurable, rewarding, challenging and richly creative collaborative relationship and it is an honour to have and be part of this artistic triumvirate.
‘So our advice would be: Embrace change, build new horizons/challenges with the company, take time away from the company and work in and with other forms, do professional developments, give yourself creative space, diversify in your work practice and with your work colleagues, embrace collaboration with other artists; most of all appreciate the deep trust and creative relationship you have with the people/company that you’ve worked with for so long. It is rare and remarkable.’
Kane Forbes, Manager Performing Arts Touring, Regional Arts Victoria
‘This July I will have worked at Regional Arts Victoria for nine years. I’ve come across a lot of discussion recently about how changing roles can impact career development. I find much less about developing a career by staying in a role and there’s plenty to be gained via staying in a job for a while. You get good. Your knowledge and confidence grow. You experience firsthand the permutations of possibility as various projects roll out. Your capacity to observe and predict trends and outcomes increases.
‘That said, staying in a role can be as big and scary a step as leaving one. Here’s my list of things that have helped keep myself, and the job, exciting and engaging for almost a decade:
Challenge: Assumptions often drive arts organisations. The foundations of these assumptions is usually the previous work of folk just like you and I, responding to their particular circumstances as best they could. Many assumptions are no longer useful. Constructively challenging assumptions helps find where they are lacking which in turn means they can be formalised into updated and clear plans, or be discarded. In this way a better, less encumbered, job is created.
Recreate: Position descriptions usually include reference to partnerships. Sometimes the basis of existing partnerships is no longer useful – yet all partners will spend their limited resources maintaining them. Mapping and recreating partnerships can help reenergise those that are important and free up time and mind-space from those that are not. This also means new partnerships have the room to be created.
Innovate: The secret to longevity in a role is innovation. For me the secret to successful innovation is in imagining the steps required to take a project or organisation on a journey of change, and then taking these steps one at a time to ensure I bring people with me. A clear pathway, with well-defined steps, allows for change by overcoming inertia and confusion.
Generate: I consider a key measure of the success of a project the way it generates new outcomes and possibilities. Delivering a project only because it is part of an annual program and focussing on the task list super-efficient – but it could reduce the way in which new things can be generated. Projects are important in themselves but also are a chance to build strategically, so I contemplate also how each step can build partnerships, aid staff development, provide additional incomes streams, and assist government priorities etc. (See the note above re innovating though!)
Self-Develop: Rather than put it off until time permits I plan my annual self-development in the same way I plan projects.
Distribute: I try not to be too protective of my ideas. I find a lot of joy in the development of other people and seeing good ideas being adopted by the industry. I try to set ideas free, let others run with them and encourage the mixing and blending with other ideas through collaborations and dialogue. It can be confronting if acknowledgement is not forthcoming, but this is a small price to pay for good ideas to thrive.
List Impossible Things: When I started my role as touring manager I wrote two lists. The first was the usual list of “things that are 100% possible to achieve over time”. The second was the blue-sky dreaming “wouldn’t it be awesome if…” list. As I worked my way down the first list, I was able to consider the second with care. This meant, for example, I was able to improve funding application processes (list one) while at the same time advocating for new funding models (list two). (I’ve now finished both lists.)
Walk Your Truth: The most important aspect of any decision to stay in a role is its alignment with your values. I’ve worked with many people in good jobs who have a miserable time because their role conflicts with an important part of them they feel they have to mask each day. Never do this!’
Liz Jones, Artistic Director, La Mama Theatre
‘I have worked at La Mama both as an artist and staff member since 1973 and became Artistic Director in 1976. And I have never been bored.
‘Every day at La Mama there is a fresh challenge. Nearly every week there is a new production. Every day there are new faces with fresh ideas and new enthusiasm.
‘The jaded, the cynical, the world-weary tend to stay away. So do the greedy.
Old faces come back regularly to refuel. Crises occur and people rush to help. To reassure.
‘The late revered Sid Clayton said “To me La Mama means freedom”. It means that to me too.
‘No year has ever passed without my involvement as an artist at La Mama. I encourage all staff to work as artists as well as office workers – it keeps them fresh and reminds them of the excitement and fulfilment lying on the other side of the footlights. It avoids any “us and them” syndrome developing.
‘I have also made it part of my life at La Mama to constantly challenge myself with new ideas and new tasks, and constantly redefine my role with new, exciting projects. It has also been very important to create La Mama as a warm and welcoming place for artists, staff, audience and drop-ins alike.
‘Hence, after 40 something years, I love being at La Mama as much as ever!’
Sue Giles, Artistic Director, Polyglot Theatre
‘I love my job. I love the breadth and scope of it; I love the role of artistic director and being co-CEO as well as being able to see ideas into reality. I love being able to take artistic risks and trying new things. I love that we’ve got a real community of artists that understand work we do and why.
‘Good culture at work makes all the difference, which means a shared vision and ethos as well as cheerful collegiate behaviour.
‘Being in a company for a long time is a real and practical privilege. You start to understand your work. Not just the creative parts but the complexities of managing an organisation and working alongside others constantly. I’ve been able to follow paths of inquiry over years and through projects that have honed my practice and lead to new and stimulating relationships and greater depth in my own analysis. The chance to examine a breadth of practice across some years in the same context, and to have the organisation supporting the work you want to make, is a gift. I feel very, very lucky.
‘Ambition is necessary. Boredom is a killer. Who wants to feel they’re maintaining the status quo? The fast pace of Polyglot means you need to keep on your toes – we have a culture of responsiveness and this is really important for me to stay interested. We produce a lot of works and in many different forms and are keen to reach and engage with kids and families wherever they are, so connectedness is a given. Collaboration opens up every project and every conversation. Isolation doesn’t work for me and I know it’s not good for me so I am surrounded by wonderful colleagues and artists who know what we do really deeply and who are always challenging me or keeping me real: partly through formal processes and partly just keeping our artists close. (Polyglot core artists are quick to tell me whether I’m being a wanker or not or whether I’m coming up with dumb ideas)
‘A spirit of adventure – every new project, every new approach and friendship leading to something different. Being open to new ideas and inviting connections that inspire new ideas. The people we’re making work for are the real kick in the pants. The challenge kids throw us always directly affects the way I think and approach the creative task. It’s continually surprising and that’s stimulating. Kids bring a breath of fresh air to ways of doing things; chaos, energy, vulnerability. Hanging out with a bunch of kids is an adventure in itself.
‘Connecting with the big picture has also been a huge part of my learning and feeling like I can make a proper contribution to the health of the sector has been really an important part of how I see my long term role at Polyglot.’
The companion piece to this article, Knowing when it’s time to go, can be read here.
