GCDN Annual Convening – Athens 2024

This session marks the culmination of our discussions of the agora and explores the pivotal role cultural leaders play in shaping civic discourse and the current challenges inherent in this role. For many leaders of cultural institutions the current chapter is perhaps the most demanding of their professional lives. One particularly challenging aspect is the extent to which many issues with a strong ethical – and therefore often a political – dimension have moved from ‘background’ to ‘foreground’ – that is, the increased salience of issues that present themselves in forms that require overt institutional positions to be taken.

Many of the issues are both complex – ethically, legally, and in their practical and financial implications – and contested – in that there is not a consensus among stakeholders as to either their moral significance or the appropriate course of action. They therefore have the potential to polarize opinion. Additionally, recourse by interested parties to social media often render the resolution of these issues more intractable and more pressing.

Examples include:
Balancing freedom of expression with other moral imperatives, including the protection of minority rights;
Taking responsibility for addressing historical social and racial injustices;
Responsibilities for environmental and social impact of endowments; and sponsors; and donors;
Etc…

What are reasonable expectations of institutional leaders faced with these complex and controversial issues? What can leaders do to manage those expectations? What are the responsibilities of other stakeholders and how can they be encouraged to embrace them? What are the long term implications for the field of arts leadership? What would help to equip arts leaders to navigate these issues with greater confidence?