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This week I’ve been thinking a lot about disruption. I used to only think of the word ‘disruption’ as being something negative, but since its adoption as a term within the worlds of change and innovation, it is often now used to describe something positive.
Call me middle-aged but I like a routine. Knowing what I am going to do and when helps minimise the amount of mental energy I have to use to navigate the day to day elements of life, freeing it up for more interesting things. It grounds me, gives me a sense of assurance and confidence that I know what I am doing, and overall, contributes to a sense of efficiency.
Consequently, I find disruption to routine very tiring, as I have to think about everything that little bit more. The last two weeks have been incredibly tiring, as I have constantly been dealing with new things – new people, new environments, new stimuli.
And that’s been the brilliant thing about it. We all need to be shaken out of our routines sometimes, and given the opportunity to think differently, to see things from a new perspective. I’ve said time and again that if we want to change the world, we have to find new ways of doing things, and disruption is one way of doing that.
I’ve spent extended amounts of time with artists, venue managers, business leaders, VCSE leaders and people who work in local authority, education, health and social care. It’s been a rich – and exhausting – two weeks, and it’s fair to say I’ve had my thinking well and truly disrupted.
The important thing now is what I do with that disruption. As I head back to my desk, my home and my routine, I’m taking new thoughts, ideas and plans with me. That’s how we continue to evolve as people, as leaders, as organisations and ultimately, as a society.
Arts Connecting with Community: Pizza and Pitches
Annabel Turpin is currently Chief Executive & Artistic Director of ARC, a charity that uses arts and cultural activity to strengthen its local community. It works locally, in Stockton and the Tees Valley, and nationally, through leadership of networks and partnerships. ARC presents a year round programme of arts and cultural activity including live events, film screenings, workshops and classes, and works to ensure it engages people who might be socially excluded. Annabel is a board member of Tees Valley Local Enterprise Partnership, Sunderland Culture Company and the North East Culture Partnership, where she has helped develop the region’s Case for Culture strategy. She co-chairs Future Arts Centres, a national network of more than 100 UK arts centres, committed to championing the role of arts centres within the wider cultural and community sector. She launched and chairs Venues North, a group of 35+ venues from across the greater North committed to helping performing artists get their work seen more widely, and also chairs the North East Artist Development Network. As a freelance consultant, she has undertaken work around organisational development for a range of clients, including companies, venues and local authorities, as well as mentoring and facilitation at both executive and board level.
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