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Dont let the jargon put you off: an understanding of the concepts behind such phrases as silo mentality and ideas freecycle can benefit us all. Damian Hebron explains why.

Occasionally, out of the welter of jargon that management consultants work hard to produce, odd phrases emerge which stick in your head. However much we dislike them, these phrases start to trickle into daily speech. Damn it, they might even be useful. For me, one such is the silo mentality. Since this phrase has been around for a while, I am sure the terminology has moved on and theres a new buzzword for it. But the phenomenon is out there, not least in the arts.

To sum it up, a silo mentality describes a mindset which prevents or inhibits one section of an organisation from communicating with another. And, since I get to make the rules here, I think the phrase can be applied to a whole sector. In my experience, many of the people who work in the arts are compartmentalised and divided. While running a gallery is different to playing the violin or running an orchestra, what we have in common with our peers far outweighs the differences: were like different prongs on the same fork and we can all learn from the experiences of our colleagues.

Instead of re-inventing the wheel, those working in the arts should be sharing information and learning from each other, like some kind of ideas freecycle. As well as the facts that can be shared (about funding, tax, the legal hoops that confront us all), there are the nuances, stories and anecdotes which join the dots and colour in the pictures, adding texture and tone to our working experience. Although many of us go to exhibitions, shows and screenings, how many of us really take the time to compare practice and think about the lessons we can learn from our peers? The familiar argument runs that the simple act of doing ones own job leaves no time for looking beyond it, but its worth thinking about this. Lets compare professional development to learning a language. We are all learning the language of the arts and no one is fluent. The odd discussion group or grammar class can surely help us to get the irregular verbs and to swear more fluently, but if we look hard at the world outside our window and genuinely try to learn from others experience and give them the opportunity to learn from ours, then we will become better at what we do and what we do will become better too.

Those who work in the arts increasingly spend a significant part of their professional lives brushing up against other industries. For those of us working in the health, education, criminal justice or regeneration sectors, life can sometimes feel a bit like living in the middle of a Venn diagram with the arts on one side and the NHS/schools/prisons/etc. on the other. However, the one constant is that the two worlds are both compartmentalised. The radiographer who never speaks to the paediatric nurse is mirrored by the curator who doesnt talk to the producer. While many in the arts have developed informal networks of friends, ex-colleagues and contemporaries with whom they can gossip, compare notes and occasionally ask advice, these groups are dependent on friendship with all its contingent connections and discretions. Friendships too are often formed between the likeminded when it is the radical, off-kilter, challenging or daft notion which can be the most useful in professional terms.

Networking is an aspect of our jobs that few people relish but, treated as a learning opportunity, it can improve our ability to do those jobs. Learning from our peers is particularly necessary within the arts in health field. Many of us work on our own or in small teams and dont often get to meet those doing similar jobs elsewhere; and we work with the NHS, well-known for its silos and its sheer size. Arts in health practitioners need to be flexible to work in a range of settings and with a variety of people, using different artforms for different projects. And anyone working in the arts, unless they are happy to sit in a groove, needs to look about and mix it up a bit, to talk to others and think about other ways of doing things. The lesson about learning applies to all of us, especially as technology and cross-artform practice develop and break down traditional boundaries. Im conscious of my penchant for a bit of jargon, so Im wary of saying this, but Ill do it anyway. We do all need to think outside of the box.

Damian Hebron is the Co-ordinator of London Arts in Health Forum and Arts Co-ordinator at Addenbrookes Hospital in Cambridge.
t: 0845 602 0825;
e: damian@lahf.org.uk