Navigating the Post-Election Landscape

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Assessing the Impact of Political Changes

With Election Day in the United States behind us, a lot of arts and cultural institutions in the US may be asking themselves “what next?” Any new Presidential administration finds arts administrators considering what impact changes in political priorities might have on their work. 

Evaluating Funding Prospects

For organizations that receive federal grants and other public funding, a key question is how  the next four years will shape these financial prospects. Will there be changes to federal agencies that administer grant programs that will affect your organization? Even if your institution is not dependent on public funds, political changes can affect financial markets - how might those changes influence donor behavior and patronage? Arts and culture expenditures can often be dismissed as luxuries if there is uncertain financial stability in other sectors. 

Navigating Programming and Content Questions

Many institutions may also struggle with questions about programming and content. What role, if any, should your institution play in addressing shifts in political and social climate? Depending on the nature of your institution and local community, there could be excellent opportunity for vibrant conversations, but there can be significant pitfalls, particularly if your employees are not on the same page as your board. 

Establishing Written Guidelines

As a first step, you’ll want to conduct a thorough review of your institution’s existing programming and content guidelines. As part of this process, engage in open dialogue with your board, programming, marketing, and legal teams to ensure a shared understanding of acceptable boundaries for projects that may be perceived as political or controversial. This should be a regular process, but it’s even more important when external forces that may impact these decisions may be in flux. 

Developing Written Guidelines

If your organization doesn’t have written Programming and Content Guidelines, now is the time to start that conversation. This is particularly important if you rely on government grants, public funding, or other revenue streams that come with their own rules attached. 

Aligning with Mission and Values

While fiscal and regulatory compliance is of high importance, equally important is making sure that your programming reflects your organization’s mission and values and the brand and institutional identity that your institution wants to cultivate. 

Managing External Events

This includes not just your own programming. If you rent space to third parties, you will want to ensure that you have clear processes about how these external events are managed and whether or not there are lines you don’t want to cross.

Navigating Challenging Decisions

Depending on the nature of your organization, there could be a wide range of potential scenarios that you will want to consider. 

For example: 

• Will your organization rent an event space for an inauguration party?

• Will you book a dance company with political ties to one side of a global conflict?

• Will you produce a play calling for impeachment of the sitting President?

• Will you host a community discussion with an author whose books have been widely banned for their vivid discussions of racism?

• Will you host an exhibition of artwork from controversial artists exploring themes of gender and sexuality? 

Answers Will be Intuition-Dependent

There is not one single good answer to these or dozens of other questions. A children's theater that receives federal education grants is almost certainly going to have a different policy than a privately funded avant garde art gallery. An official state museum that is primarily funded with state appropriations is going to have different concerns than a small local dance company funded primarily by instructional income and ticket sales. 

Communicating and Implementing Policies

No matter what your organization’s final position, you need to know where you stand and your stakeholders need to be comfortable with the decision. After that, you need to communicate the policy to staff and make sure that they understand how to communicate it to others. The last thing you want is someone saying “We can’t do that” for the wrong reasons. 

Seeking Legal Guidance

Once you’ve had some internal discussions about your policies, it’s time to seek guidance from a lawyer specializing in arts and cultural law to ensure your institution’s activities are legally sound and in compliance with all funding agreements.  

Email me today to discuss how Sexton Law PLLC can help you be prepared to confidently make and defend your programming decisions in any political climate. 

Attorney advertising, not intended as legal advice.