Hotspot

We live in uncertain times. The only certainty is change – a potential change in national government, changes to local government priorities and changes to the arts funding system are all likely in the near future. The challenge to us as arts organisations is how to survive and thrive in this new world, and the answer is found in one word: partnership. Forward-thinking organisations have long embraced partnerships, recognising that there is more to gain from working together than in isolation. Successful partnerships require the active participation of all partners to welcome new opportunities, challenge existing practice and learn from each other. I’m not just talking about partnerships with the usual suspects – we need to be thinking more creatively and seeking partners beyond the cultural sector.

Take the Department for Children, Schools & Families Music Partnership Projects, for example. We’re leading on one of these, which brings together two orchestras, a large-scale concert venue, the local music and performing arts service, seven schools and the learning achievement and school improvement service to create a new way of delivering music education inside and outside the classroom. This combination of arts and education specialists who bring their expertise shows how we can forge new relationships to produce something that is greater than the sum of its parts. Everything we do at Orchestras Live is about partnership. It’s part of our DNA. Next March we are going to develop a partnership of all the local authorities in Norfolk to deliver concerts with the BBC Concert Orchestra for schoolchildren across the county. Work on this scale is only possible because of the combined resources, and together we will enable thousands of young people to experience live music. As an industry, we have generally been slow to embrace collaboration with other sectors – in particular the third sector, where there are many organisations working with groups of people we want to reach. Now is the time for all arts organisations to be identifying new collaborations from outside our sector to find new models for the future.