Bookshop

Robert Hutchison reviews Diverse Voices: Personal Journeys, edited by Janet Summerton and Madeline Hutchins.
Diverse Voices: Personal Journeys is an attractive booklet and is part of the Collected Wisdom project, a vehicle for those involved in arts management (including artists) to share their stories and highlight good practice. The eleven stories in the booklet are, in the words of the editors, stories of smart, curious, capable and highly skilled people, driven by infectious passions, who can spot openings and opportunities.

The wider Collected Wisdom research project is much needed and full of promise: those working in arts management should be encouraged to reflect more on their experience. The selection of those who contribute the stories of their personal journeys is refreshingly free of male white megafauna. The insights of these diverse voices contain many important reminders of what makes for a satisfying working life: following your passion, not worrying about change and being prepared to move on, cultivating good team spirit, embracing risk, learning from mistakes and sharing experiences. Diverse Voices: Personal Journeys is a work of affirmation: recognising that a person can be accomplished as both an artist and a manager and affirming the multiple achievements of kaleidoscopic careers and multi-tasking.

The weakness in the book is that the voices go unchallenged. Awkward questions are not raised. But the raising of awkward questions and the challenging of some of the shibboleths that endure in the publicly funded arts could be the subject of another title in this very welcome series.

Review by Robert Hutchison, Chief Executive of Oxford Inspires SAMs Books operates a signposting service for books for arts managers. See the website for details.
w: http://www.sam-arts.co.uk