Our Cultural Crisis Lab workshops invite senior management teams and board members from cultural organisations into a high-stakes, desk-based disaster simulation. The exact scenario? Strictly classified until the live countdown begins, mimicking the raw, unvarnished reality of a real-world emergency.

Whilst the urgency is real, the Cultural Crisis Lab provides a unique, controlled environment to experiment, collaborate, and stress-test your strategic response alongside your peers. Step out of the boardroom and into an interactive laboratory environment where you can pressure-test your governance, sharpen your survival strategies, and build the radical resilience your organisation needs to safeguard its future.

How the lab works

• We start by looking at a specific crisis that is likely to be on all cultural organisation's risk register. These curated scenarios ensure every challenge is timely and directly applicable to the cultural sector.
• We will follow a tried and tested desk based resilience tool, carefully adapted for the cultural sector. A scenario is presented and then developed over the course of the workshop.
• We move from talk to action. Leave with practical, flexible tools and new ways of thinking that you can immediately apply to your role and your organisation.

Who should attend: These labs are designed for trustees, company directors, chief executives and other senior leaders who want to thoughtfully explore ways to ensure their organisation’s long-term health.

Timing: Each lab is held over half a day, making it a manageable time commitment to fit into your working week.

Preparation: No pre-reading or formal prep is required. Just bring an open mind and a willingness to engage deeply with the material.

What to expect: Expect a dynamic, highly interactive, and supportive environment. Come ready to think critically about how these scenarios apply to your own organisation.

These are labs, not conferences. We are stripping away the jargon to focus on the real-world issues currently shaping the cultural sector. Join us for a high-energy, collaborative workshops of stress-testing, prototyping, and exchanging strategies.

At ProArtsPlus, we believe that navigating a crisis requires a careful balance of creative vision and structural integrity. Come ready to roll up your sleeves, challenge your assumptions, and leave with a clear, actionable roadmap for your organisation’s long-term resilience.