As the daughter of a therapist and an ever curious observer of human behavior, I’ve always gotten sort of a kick out of The Peanuts Lucy’s 5 cent “Psychiatric Help” booth. Lucy’s advice is, at best, nonchalant and, at worst, downright mean. But there’s something about the format of that homemade desk that has always resonated with me.
We’ve all spent time in small, underfunded organizations or departments within larger organizations struggling to find their way. And we’ve all had that one (or more than one!) nagging challenge or project we never seem to have the time, brainspace, or support to deal with. Plans sit on shelves, discussions get circular, and simmering feelings go unaddressed. It doesn’t feel good. But what if we had our very own professional “Psychiatric Help” booth to lend us a quick, supportive bit of advice?
In our decades worth of experience working with the cultural sector, each of our desks, offices or cubicles became, at one point or another, a tiny, part time version of Lucy’s booth. Our colleagues pulled up chairs, closed doors, and lowered their voices to seek support, muddle through problems, and, yes, complain. This myriad of interactions has us believing that the majority of these exchanges tend to touch upon a foundational set of challenges which appear again and again at our cultural institutions.
- Process; We reinvent the wheel every time we do a particular type of project.
- Communication; We struggle to keep our internal information flowing.
- Identity; We don’t always have a great (or unified) sense of who we are.
- Creativity; We get so busy with our everyday work we forget how to dream.
- Momentum; We have a project(s) we want to realize but just can’t keep it moving.
We’ve long pondered how The Experience Alchemists might be able to serve as a kinder, more insightful, and better organized version of Lucy’s booth to our clients and colleagues. The Alchemy Sprint is our first experiment in the construction of a simple but well designed “Help” desk for whatever cultural entity might find it useful. It is intended to provide quick access, produce immediately applicable results, and be affordable to everyone.
Calling all museums, art organizations, zoos, aquariums, historic houses and sites, monuments, gardens, performing art venues, and parks… As well as all the associations and communities who support such organizations! We want you to know that we see your struggles and stumbling blocks and stuck places. And we want you to know we’re here to help. The doctor is in!
Click here to learn more about our Alchemy Sprint offering or simply fill out this intake form to let us know you’d like to schedule a session. But don’t wait! We’re only scheduling Alchemy Sprints from September 1 thru December 15, 2023.
