This week, we’re launching a podcast. ‘Theory of Creativity’ is a series of weekly interviews with experts in research, economics, innovation, advocacy and policy.

It has meant time away from client work, my team and my family. I’ve been asked ‘why’, ‘why now’, ‘why a podcast’ and my favourite, ‘shouldn’t you charge people for that advice?’ Here are my answers.

Where did the idea come from?

After participating in the Australia Council’s Arts Leaders Program 2016-2018, I reflected that many of our conversations on the program related to one of three central needs for arts and cultural organisations: reaching more people, securing funding and creating positive impacts through our work.

I’ve spent 10 years in the arts as a researcher, and seen how the right ideas and insights can enable teams to achieve ambitious goals. But applying insights in the arts is not straightforward. Partly because there are complex tensions between what’s artistically interesting, financially viable and socially impactful.

A new decade is here, and I firmly believe in the power of the arts to be a force for good in the world. But if we’re to realise the full potential of a creative society, as a sector we need to be bigger, better and stronger. With this podcast, I’m making sure cultural professionals can access the best possible thinking and insights, from experts that really know their stuff.

Who is on the podcast?

All the guests on Theory of Creativity are leaders in their field. In the first season, this includes experts in audience research, economics, policy and design thinking - who know how to apply these tools in the arts sector.

For many of the interviews, I’m joined by an Australian arts leader, including many of my colleagues on the leadership program. I’m grateful to colleagues who collaborated with me in developing the podcast: Simon Abrahams, Amy Maiden, Jade Lillie, Erin Milne, Kate Eltham, Morwenna Collett, Anna Reece and many more - you know who you are!

What is in each episode?

Listeners can expect to hear a friendly and frank interview with an expert. Each episode goes for about 45 minutes, and in that time, we cover, the details of their practice, key successes and challenges for that field, and tips for those applying these techniques in their organisations.

We also cover useful resources, further reading, and what lies ahead in their area of expertise. At 45 minutes, it’s designed to be digestible during a commute or workout.

Why a podcast?

Podcasts are the only media that I believe give you your time back. All other media - whether that be reading article, attending a discussion event, doing online training - require you to give up your time to engage.

Podcasts are designed to be consumed while commuting, cooking, walking, doing the laundry. As a busy working mum myself, I’m hooked on podcasts! If you haven’t yet got into podcasting - give it a go!

Who is it for?

The target audience for the podcast is leaders and mid-career professionals in the arts and culture sector. So, people working in theatre companies, museums, galleries, festivals. They might be CEOs or Artistic Directors, Marketing Managers, Program Officers or Directors of Development.

It’s for anyone who is thirsty for more knowledge, more insight, who believes that we have greater potential as a sector.

How have you produced the podcast?

Pretty much everything has been done in-house by me and my wonderful team. I used the media room at our co-working space Hub Hyde Park to conduct interviews. I bought a second hand Yeti microphone to interview while I’m travelling. I also use Skype for some interviews. In editing, we used free Audacity software. I purchased a music track by Pop Villains on music platform Premium Beat. Our freelance designer Marchelle Matthew produced the artwork for the podcast, and set us up with templates in Canva. My colleagues Jodie Bombardier and Aurora Nowosad produce the show notes for every episode, using transcription service Rev. The podcast is published via Whooshka, a free podcasting platform, and that pushes the episodes through to Apple iTunes and Spotify,

Knowing absolutely nothing about podcasting before I started, it has been a sharp learning curve, and really this is only the beginning. I could list 100 things that aren’t right about our first episodes, but I’m super proud that they are done and out there in the world. Now we can start work finding ways to improve the experience for our listeners.

I was able to access a small amount of seed funding from the Australia Council, which has enabled me to cover some key costs for the first season. Otherwise, we have done it all on a shoestring with a few late nights!

Shouldn’t you charge people for that advice?

This one’s easy. No. We’re honoured to work one-on-one with our clients - and we put in 110% on every job. But as a sector we have so much to do!

This podcast is about serving our wider community of culture professionals. If this helps us serve you better, job done.

What are your aspirations for the podcast?

I hope this podcast helps arts and cultural professionals stay informed about the techniques that are available to them, and to be wise to the success factors for applying them in their own organisation. I hope it helps build research literacy in the sector, and that we have better conversations because of it.

I hope it allows for more nuance, in discussing complex topics.

By undertaking the interviews, I hope to build my own understanding how how they can be applied in combination to grow and strengthen organisations. Already I’ve learned so much!

Ultimately, I hope that it helps us collectively to reach more people and do more good in the world.

I’d love to hear your ideas. You can get in touch any time with us at theoryofcreativity@thepatternmakers.com.au

About the Author

Tandi Palmer Williams
Managing Director, Patternmakers

Tandi is a researcher and management consultant in the cultural sector (and now, host of the Theory of Creativity podcast!)

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