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of the major performing arts organisations. Bailey and Richardson are careful to
note, however, that there must be a genuine commitment to self-assessment on
the part of the arts organisations in order for this system to work; the process may
otherwise become a mere ‘box ticking’ exercise (304).
A considerable body of literature in the area of non-profit management aims to
help cultural managers run the business aspects of their organisations, but fewer
resources are available to guide them in the creative processes that yield highquality
cultural experiences. The Australia Council’s focus on artistic vibrancy and
its emphasis on the role that self-assessment can play in achieving better outcomes
are important steps in that direction. Indeed, the Australia Council has identified
‘openness to feedback’, ‘organisational mechanisms to receive feedback and engage
in dialogue’ and the ‘willingness to undertake self-reflection’ among the organisational
qualities that support artistic vibrancy (Bailey 2009b, 7).
‘Community relevance’, another element of Bailey’s framework, has similarities
to Hannah et al’s ‘necessity’. A basic awareness of the publics that an organisation
seeks to serve and the willingness to engage them in conversations about the work
go a long way towards ensuring the provision of impactful and valuable cultural
experiences (Bunting 2010, 20).
In addition to the willingness to incorporate feedback into a reflective learning
process, the Australia Council identifies a strong sense of ‘shared artistic purpose
in the company’ and ‘strong artistic leadership and governance’ in a list of organisational
traits that support artistic vibrancy (Bailey 2009b, 7). This suggests a new
approach toward the assessment of creative capacity, which is based on the identification
of certain organisational characteristics as indicators of creative capacity,
rather than judging the organisation based solely on its products. Since organisational
assessments in many funding and policy contexts are interested in predicting
the likelihood of future artistic excellence, not just assessing the quality of past
work (Moore and Moore 2005, 57), this marks a considerable shift in thinking.
CREATIVE CAPACITY OF AN ORGANISATION 115
UNDERSTANDING the value and impacts of cultural experiences