Meg Larkin AM

A lifetime of artistic endeavours

Meg Larkin AM leads a rich and vibrant artistic life. She has been chair of Regional Arts NSW, Regional Arts Australia, the New England Regional Art Museum (NERAM) and the Tamworth Regional Conservatorium of Music, and still serves on the Tamworth Council Arts and Advisory Committee, as chair of ADFAS Tamworth Region and as secretary of the Friends of Tamworth Gallery. Her paid job for 15 years was as Tamworth Regional Council's Cultural and Community Services Manager, where, as part of a broad portfolio, she oversaw the design and development of the Tamworth Regional Gallery and Library. During that time Meg also commenced a Master of Business Administration with UNE, a decision she describes as "life-changing".

"My job was getting bigger and bigger and there was a lot of change in the air. I did the MBA externally and it was a fantastic, very practical experience. It was immediately applicable because we were undergoing massive organisational change. MBA units such as organisational behaviour and strategic management and change management were all very useful in my rapidly changing work environment.

Then I started to become involved in a number of boards and arts bodies. I was elected to the board of what was then the Arts Council of NSW, and it was also going through a major restructure to emerge as Regional Arts NSW, and I chaired the organisation throughout that period. Everything I was studying with the MBA had relevance - HR management when we had to put off staff, change management when we had to change the board, and financial management of course.

In 2008 I was appointed to the board of NERAM in Armidale and it, too, went through restructuring. I chaired its first board. I was so grateful I had the MBA because it was really about change management; there were financial, strategic, staffing, marketing and decision-making issues to resolve. The MBA gave me the confidence to take on that role, the advanced skills that took me to the next level of management, and I fell back on everything I'd learnt. It helped me to cope with some extremely challenging situations.

My MBA has enabled me to go out and do things that were outside my normal working ambit; to pick up roles and run with them. I still use the skills I learnt, even today in retirement, because so much voluntary work is about taking an idea and a few good people and building an organisation and trying to make it sustainable and financially viable.

I strongly believe that art is absolutely essential to strong and healthy communities. It helps us to define who we are and makes us human. It extends our horizons and opens us to new ideas. It contributes to our health and how we feel about ourselves. If we want regional communities to grow and thrive, then we also need to do what we can to attract new people, and, as much as we can, provide them with the kinds of opportunities they would get in the city, and that includes all branches of the arts.

My vision is for strong communities, where arts facilities and infrastructure are available to everybody. That's something I can contribute to, and my MBA has helped me to do that."