‘Resilience’ is a phrase often heard within the arts and creative sector, and is a quality that many arts leaders strive for. But with the day-to-day operations of many arts centres severely disrupted over the past 16 months, Mark Robinson takes a fresh look at the meaning of resilience in Tactics for the Tightrope – examining how it can be both an act of resistance to existing conditions as well as adaptation.
Part manifesto, part toolkit the book helps leaders in the arts sector take a fresh look at how to approach collaboration, build shared purpose and values and adapt with confidence in an increasingly uncertain world.
Full of ideas as we all as practical exercises, ahead of publication on Friday 23 July, below you can find one of the tools contained within its pages. The Livelihood Assets Canvas helps the user to to take an asset-based approach – what do you have, rather than what do you lack. You can assess your current assets, and identify strategies and tactics that might make the most of a whole range of strengths – or to build them in future.
Below is a blank version of the canvas, or you can also use the table version to map your livelihood assets. Whilst completing the activity you may want to consider:
- What do you have or have access to in each of these categories? Think broadly
- How confident and powerful does that make you feel in each category? If using the graphic version, you can give yourself a % rating out of 100 to make the relative levels apparent if it helps.
- What could you do to strengthen your position, now or over time? Think about strategies and actions that relate to yourself or you group/organisation (self/inside) and also how you might work with others to tackle issues outside or beyond in the system or environment that make sustainable livelihood harder to achieve.
Individual images with alt text can also be accessed below:
