I didn’t sleep well last night, and the fact that yesterday was the hottest July day on record was only a part of the problem. I was still fretting over the possible solutions to the problem of what to advise the group preparing for their exhibition at South Square. The answer came to me out of the blue. Why not have two exhibitions? When I thought about it, the group had so much material that it could fill the gallery twice with comfort. What is more, it fell into two clearly distinct types: there are portrait photographs of local characters, and more documentary material about the community. Two problems remained to be solved: securing the assent of the group and finding a slot in the gallery’s programme when the second round could be played.
I talked over the situation with my wife over breakfast and she made the interesting observation that it might not be a matter of persuading people to do something they don’t want to do, but providing a solution that they actually wanted, but didn’t say so for fear of offending others.
The gallery administrator ‘phoned during the morning, to enquire about progress, and I outlined my proposal. Not only did she think it was an ideal solution, but told me that, out of the blue, there had been a cancellation for September, and if we were to divide the show into two halves it could actually solve one of her problems. After lunch I went up to the gallery with a certain amount of trepidation, and when the woman arrived who was to help with the next stage of presentation I began to explain my proposal with a little anxiety. I had hardly spoken two sentences, however, when she admitted that she had shared my concerns about the excessive quantity of material. She was enormously relieved, and delighted to back the new plan. So: we finished hanging the items that best fitted the first part of the exhibition, which fills the space nicely, and doesn’t suffer from the intrusion of material with a slightly different emphasis and focus.
She did have her concerns, however, about the possible response of one of the committee members …. actually, the person who had originated the project. We agreed that I would ‘phone her, and put it to her as a policy decision of the gallery and not as something to be determined within the group. Having returned home (and of course, had a cup of tea) I grasped the bull by the horns and made the call. To my amazement, the new scheme was accepted enthusiastically there also. A certain amount of diplomacy remains to be done, I gather, with the financial sponsor of the scheme, but as their interests will be served better under the revised plan than under the original plan, it looks as if everything will fall into place smoothly.
I do think that this is a wonderful illustration of what is probably a common problem. Everybody makes assumptions about how other people look at a situation, and believes that their own view is out of line with a collective opinion. They keep their ideas hidden for fear of upsetting their colleagues. In fact, if their concerns could be aired it would be discovered that everyone had reached the same conclusion, and is mightily relieved to find that their feelings of isolation were illusory.
It’s much cooler now, and we have had some beautifully refreshing rain. That will not be the only reason why I expect to be able to sleep tonight.
PS: Tomorrow we will be leaving to spend a couple of nights in a holiday centre, with other family members. It is unclear from their website whether wifi will be available to us.