How to support democracy in times of political extremism

If you ask any leader of any cultural organisation about how they are doing, they will tell you their job is brutal, and this past week takes the biscuit. Last Monday (31 March) we learned that an anti-immigration candidate was potentially coming to a hustings taking place at Watershed. This was not a straightforward situation for us.

Watershed stands for inclusion, justice and equity. We are a values-led cultural organisation, and we also believe in supporting democratic engagement. How then to navigate this situation?

We decided we had to go ahead with the event, a response which made some members of our audience doubt our values and threaten to boycott us but also gathered many messages of support and positive feedback on our approach.

How to handle potentially volatile situations

We felt our way through, and I am proud of what we did. So here are some reflections, in case they are useful to other organisations:

• The first rule is always don’t panic. Stop, breathe, keep calm and talk to everyone in the team to check your thinking.
• Make sure a real person does the talking. I wrote a personal blog rather than an organisational news post. It was hard as I opened myself up to personal abuse (and there was quite a bit), but it also meant that our communications weren’t faceless and corporate. Instead, they were authentic and personal.
• Say what you believe and explain why you are doing what you are doing. There were loads of nuanced reasons why we didn’t cancel rather than one single clear truth. That’s complicated to land but we decided to lay it out and people appreciated it. It was great to see press and audience members using our explanation in their descriptions of the situation and to defend us against criticism.
• Know the law. This was not our first rodeo, so we understand charity commission guidelines. We checked and rechecked them to ensure we were taking appropriate action.
• Charities can’t be party political, but culture is always small ‘p’ political. The fear of getting it wrong can stop organisations from saying anything. We decided we had to say what we believe.
• Engage with the internet. This means keeping comments open, monitoring your social channels to understand the issues being raised and ensuring you respond in a timely and open manner. Crisis comms approaches need to understand the internet – this is where minds are made up
• Invite feedback. Make it clear people can disagree with you. Make sure you take time to respond. Most of the supportive messages we had were private; the critical messages were very public – but we appreciated both.
• Meet with the people who are angry with you. I met one of the most virulent critics of our decision not to cancel. We listened to each other. We still disagreed but I am grateful for his time and his passion, and it helped me think about what is next.
• We decided not to name the party or the candidate in our communications. We didn’t want to give them oxygen or anything to vindicate a feeling of persecution.
• Welcome protest. I am proud that a good anti-racist demonstration took place outside Watershed. We shared their photos, took a sticker and joined in. We agree with their anti-racist stance. We made clear that staff and studio residents were welcome to join the demonstration without repercussions. We were clear with the police that we welcomed the protest, so they took a back seat.
• Be open with staff about why you are making decisions and what might happen. We made clear to staff that they didn’t have to work the event if they felt uncomfortable, and that they would still be paid. Staff felt informed and consulted and nobody took up this offer. 
• Brief everyone really clearly. All panellists received our Code of Conduct and we gave the chair a written and verbal briefing about the risks, responsibilities and how to handle hate speech – it is one strike and you are out at Watershed. You can read (and use) our briefing here.  

Capacity burn is too high

In the end the candidate did not turn up for the hustings and an important debate on transport, access and the climate took place. A few people think we made the wrong call and may not return to Watershed.

If you haven’t experienced anything similar, I am sorry to say that I am sure you will. We were lucky. The situation only lasted a few days and seems to be over.

Sadly, we probably won’t host a hustings again, the risks and the capacity burn are too high. It is vital we work together as sector to share the challenges and work on the solutions. We need to find good ways for cultural organisations to support democracy in times of political extremism. And to create spaces for healthy disagreement and conflict. If you have thoughts on that, get in touch.

If you’d like to support Watershed to continue centering our values in difficult times, please visit watershed.co.uk/donate.