Government Relations featuring Aubrey Reeves

[AI ] TRANSCRIPT:

“If we want politicians of all political stripes to understand the impact and value of public investment in the arts, we should all be demonstrating that appreciation on a regular basis.”

Today we get to talk about arts advocacy and government relations with Aubrey Reeves. Aubrey is President and CEO of Business and Arts, where you've probably heard about ArtsVest program that they do, which is focused on capacity building and training and mentorship. And the Canadian Arts Summit, which brings together senior leaders from Canada's largest institutions to talk about how to enhance, improve and further the sector. Now, what you might not know is that Aubrey is also an artist who has shown her work nationally and internationally.  Welcome, Aubrey. Aubrey, you have some points to share with us about government relations and, and maybe even soft arts advocacy. 

Yeah. So my first, tip is really don't wait until an election or a crisis to begin to do government relations. Government relations is really something that should happen all year round in good times and bad. I recognize that outside of the very largest cultural institutions who might have dedicated GR staff, the rest of us are doing GR off the corner of our desk. So it does feel like another task that we don't have time for. Nonetheless, every executive director and general manager should really do GR an important part of the role because it'll help you in the long run to accomplish so much more. So if you are doing GR regularly, when we do enter an election period or perish, the thought, your organization does face a crisis that you already have built those relationships with government officials. You'll know who to call, and they will know who you are and appreciate your organization's role in the community, which should mean they will have a lot more, ability to help you.

All right. So my second tip is to start with soft advocacy. So, what I really mean by that is a be a warm and welcoming to elected officials. Invite them to your opening nights, your exhibitions, your events, any kind of thing that you are hosting. This is an opportunity to introduce elected officials to what your arts organization does in the community and for them to see you in action.

So and hopefully be inspired by the art you produce and present. Make sure to acknowledge their presence in any remarks. Greet them, introduce yourself and your team. Maybe even give them a backstage tour or a sneak peek at something that will spark their interest and curiosity. And if they don't take you up on invitations to come to your venue or event, then you can go to them.

Because every MP or provincial member of Parliament or legislature and many city councilors regularly hold community events, open houses, you know, coffee, Q&A and other kind of meet and greet things show up to those, introduce yourself as a member of their writing and their ward, and you'll be surprised by how much should they take interest? Tell them about your organization. Invite them to check you out. And, you know, then follow up again with real invitations to your events. So, you know, based off advocacy here, I mean, that you are building those relationships you're pressing upon them, your organization's value in the community. You're not making any hard asks at this stage.

So my third tip is to show the love, when you're organization does receive a grant or government investment, you can make a big deal about it and show your appreciation. Depending on the scale of that support, you could send a press release announcing your success with a quote from a government representative, or even have an event to announce the news, where those representatives are invited to speak, but definitely share all that good news on social media. We really, actually rarely get to celebrate successes as we're always busy on to the next thing, but it is worth taking a pause to recognize the contributions of your supporters, both public and private sector. And typically, the arts are very good at showing their appreciation for those private sector supporters. The major donors and sponsors. But we actually don't show the love to public funders as much. We stick that funder’s logo on the boiler plate and think that it, you know, that's done and dusted, but if we want politicians of all political stripes to understand the impact and value of public investment in the arts, we should all be demonstrating that appreciation on a regular basis.

Tip number four is identify shared values. So we all know we're in a highly polarized time. It's easy to make assumptions about people who hold different political views from us and to vilify them as your, opponents. But don't assume that because of a particular party affiliation, someone is automatically against supporting arts and culture. They maybe don't know it yet, but they could be a potential arts champion. Remember also that politicians are people too. You want to connect with them on a human level. So if you are meeting with an elected official, just really start by asking them what was the last exhibition you saw? Did you take music lessons as a child? Do your own kids take that dance classes? Is there a cultural tradition that they practice regularly?

Most people don't think of themselves as arts patrons, quote unquote, but it is rare to find someone who has zero personal connections to arts and culture. And if you show that genuine curiosity, you can usually get a politician to talk about an arts experience that was meaningful to them. And now you have found those shared values and, you know, bingo. From those shared values, you are now in a position to persuade them of the importance of investing in arts and culture in their community. So you got to show them that their goals, which you know, are generally having a strong economy, a vibrant, livable community, can align with your goals to fund the arts.

The tip number five is keep going. Not every elected official you meet is going to be helpful to your cause. Even if they want to be, you will have to knock on a lot of doors. There will be times it feels hopeless and that you are not getting anywhere. But government relations is a long game and it is a team sport. So first, in terms of the long game, take a look at the history, get inspired by the accomplishments of the past.

There are there really is no golden past of arts funding. There was never enough. But over time, arts funding has increased, due to the effort of many people in the sector. So what were the strategies that worked to encourage governments to invest? What tools or resources from those past experiences can be updated and adapted now? And second, find your network of peers who are also doing this kind of arts advocacy.

The Arts Coalition is a good place to start to find those folks. But whether you are looking to work on our civic see nationally, provincially or locally, it really does help to build a network of people you can collaborate with. You can get a boost of energy from knowing that you are not alone, and you can share resources.

As Ruth Bader Ginsburg said, fight for the things that you care about, but do it in a way that leads others to join you. 

Absolutely love that, Aubrey. That's so true. Such great words of advice from you and from Ruth Ginsburg . Where can people find business and arts online? 

It's pretty simple. Businessandarts.org. You can, find out about all of our programs, like Arts Fest, the Community Arts Summit, our monthly speaker series, our research that we put out, and many other things. You can also follow us on social media. 

Thank you so much, Aubrey.

You're welcome. And thank you. 

Advocating for the arts, advocating for our organizations, and really doing government relations is really about relationships, just like so many other aspect of our work in the arts and in this case, inviting people, being part of their events and activities, celebrating shared goals and accomplishments. It's all about building those relationships with key people.

I'm Heather Kelly, and this has been High Five for arts leaders and creative entrepreneurs. Join me again for another high five with a new guest next week. See you then.