Weathering the storm

Lapidus is an arts organisation, founded in 1996, that promotes the use of creative words in health and well-being. Its membership consists mostly of people who use creative words in therapeutic contexts: counsellors, facilitators, doctors and individuals who focus on personal and creative development. For many of us who work in those fields, Lapidus has been a forum to share experiences and a place of renewal and support. Until 2008, we were funded by Arts Council England (ACE). We held annual conferences, took part in festivals and projects and were working towards accreditation that would raise the status of writing and reading as therapeutic tools to match that of music and art. With partner organisations from the literature training consortium we were exploring areas of professional development and mentoring. For some of us, news of the impending withdrawal of funding was the first sign of the financial crisis. We spent a lot of time wondering whose fault it was – not ours surely? – and asking ourselves what we could do to make life go on as though nothing had happened.
 

To start with we looked for replacement funding. In October, with money fast running out, we finally, and reluctantly, took action. We cut the administrator’s hours and pared down our costs. Too little and maybe too late. As a board we were depressed and disheartened. There seemed to be no way of keeping Lapidus going as a national organisation. At that point I started talking – to anyone I could think of. The first thing I found was that we were not alone. Other groups and individuals were struggling. The most helpful conversation was with my local ACE Literature Officer who challenged me to justify Lapidus’s continued existence: not the network, but the expensive centralised outfit. What mattered, I realised, was the people involved, individuals and local groups, some of which were managing very nicely, inspired and supported by the idea and the ideals of Lapidus. With no new sources of funding, we looked back to the aims and aspirations of our founding members who had come together to support each other and promote what were then some very new ideas about the place of literary arts in health and well-being. We also looked closely at the practical needs and hopes of our members. We started a monthly newsletter to keep people informed of events and opportunities. We found cheap or free venues for meetings and brought our own lunch.
Work on accreditation continues. We have an Arts and Health project, funded by ACE, nearing completion, and more projects planned in partnership with libraries and in healthcare settings. Tasks formerly carried out by the administrator have been allocated to members of the board and we have paid help with the website and membership. As recession deepens we may have to look more closely at this too and devolve more responsibility to local groups. For the moment, we have survived, not in the way we hoped but in a way that may be closer to the ideals and ethos we were seeking to defend. In the long run, our difficult year may have been good for us. We have learned to take nothing for granted. We have learned to be more resourceful, and to see ourselves in a wider context. We still hope to maintain a national profile. We still hope to secure funding for major projects. We have been forced to ask ourselves tough questions about who we are and what we offer and are in a stronger position to achieve those goals. Next year should be interesting.