I ask them to take a poem
and hold it up to the light
like a color slide
or press an ear against its hive.
—Billy Collins, from “Introduction to Poetry”
Author, anthropologist, and filmmaker Zora Neale Hurston defined research as “formalized curiosity,” as “poking and prying with a purpose” (2019). Those approaches are also essential to any arts manager’s work.
“Curiosity” is an obvious requirement. Arts management, after all, is largely about discovery and discourse around creative work, and how to help that work thrive. Being curious reveals paths and practices toward better effort.
But “formalized” is often the missing component in that curiosity. Without method to the process, creative inquiry can be chaotic or even harmful. If you’re looking for methods, Liz Lerman’s “Critical Response Process” can be an important addition to your toolkit. While primarily designed to help artists gather useful feedback on works in progress, the process is versatile and powerful in many domains.
In brief, the Critical Response Process defines three players – the artist/maker, the responder(s), and the facilitator – and moves them through four steps following a presentation of an artistic work.
Step 1: Statements of Meaning
Responders state what was engaging, interesting, stimulating, or striking in the work they have just witnessed. Discomforts, doubts, and negative opinions are withheld until later in the process.Step 2: Artist as Questioner
The artist asks questions about the work. After each question, the responders answer, being mindful to stay focused on the question.
Step 3: Neutral Questions
Responders ask neutral questions about the work (questions without an opinion embedded in them). The artist answers.
Step 4: Opinion Time
Responders offer opinions, subject to permission from the artist. These are commonly framed as: “I have an opinion about [topic], would you like to hear it?”
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There’s much more depth and detail to the process, of course, available in two books about it (I’d recommend the most recent). But even this brief overview shows many of the core qualities that make this approach so powerful. It centers the artist and their needs. And it offers a structure (a “formalized curiosity”) designed to avoid premature judgment and interrogation – both of which close down discovery.
In particular, I use the concepts of the final two steps all the time, in all sorts of settings beyond artistic feedback.
Neutral questions are a challenge to construct and a gift to receive. Like most forms of inquiry, they demand constant practice. As Lerman and her co-author John Borstel frame it, the neutral question seeks “to defuse defensiveness on the part of the artist and inspire reflection on the opinion of the responder.”
Opinion with consent can also feel awkward at first, but it’s a revelation when used as consistent practice. Instead of blurting out a full opinion of the work or some aspect of it, responders are asked to state (neutrally) the topic they have an opinion about, and then to ask if the artist would like to hear it. For example, “I have an opinion about the music of this work and its relation to the movement. Would you like to hear it?” The artist can say “no.”
If that idea upsets you, take a breath and ask yourself why.
Arts managers are certainly in the business of business. But they’re also in the business of discovery. Building a repertory of inquiry methods is an essential aspect of the craft.
Sources
Hurston, Zora Neale. 2019. Dust Tracks on a Road. Virago.
Lerman, Liz, and John Borstel. 2022. Critique Is Creative: The Critical Response Process in Theory and Action. First edition. Wesleyan University Press.
From the ArtsManaged Field Guide
Function of the Week: Program & Production
Program & Production involves developing, assembling, presenting, and preserving coherent services or experiences.
Framework of the Week: Critical Response Process
Liz Lerman’s method for giving and getting feedback on work in progress, designed to leave the maker eager and motivated to get back to work.
Step 4 asks permission before offering an opinion, and managers can borrow that habit directly. In a 1:1, try "I have a reaction to this draft. Would you like it now, or after you explain what you were aiming for?" That short pause lets feedback land as an offer and not a verdict.