Creative Risk-taking

It is no surprise that Ian Darling AO (P’79) has a neat answer to the question ‘What is creativity?’ Being creative is not something that he does, but rather something that he is. And that goes all the way back to his primary school days at Geelong Grammar School’s Toorak campus, known then as Glamorgan. “I was introduced to creative thinking there”, explained Ian. “Glamorgan introduced open plan learning, which involved far less structured schooling but rather focused on doing projects on things we were interested in, with lots of general knowledge quizzes and a big emphasis on drama and debating. My structured maths and English perhaps didn’t benefit as much, but I learnt the importance of time management and creative thinking from a very young age. When I think back to Glamorgan, it has almost been a blueprint for what I’ve been able to do in the 40 years since I left school.”

Ian has had two careers in that time, both founded in creative thinking. The first of these was running a funds management business, something that might be more typically associated with financial acumen than a creative mind. Ian’s approach was different, applying the ‘Warren Buffett’ investment approach, which was counter to modern portfolio management theory taught at business schools at the time. This was a creative approach to an age-old industry. His second career as a documentary filmmaker was an inherently creative option, but Ian’s approach was to create a shift in thinking around what documentaries can do. He set up Shark Island Productions to create social impact documentaries, with extensive education programmes.

He then set up Documentary Australia, a foundation that enables philanthropic funding to come into the documentary space. “Documentaries can be a major force for social change by working with organisations to highlight important issues and shift policies and community behaviour by raising awareness.” The Final Quarter, the unflinching documentary about the racial vilification of AFL player Adam Goodes, which was produced and directed by Ian, is a case in point. Viewed by an estimated four million people so far, including the players and staff of all AFL clubs and in thousands of classrooms across Australia, it is not overreaching to say the film has the potential to ignite a generational change in attitude.

Ian is living proof that it is essential to be able to think independently and creatively, and the best place for those skills to be learned is at school. “We need to do everything we can to prepare young minds to think creatively – not by questioning the education system but by seeing what we can do to broaden it at every instance. Schools are well positioned for creative risk-taking.”

At Geelong Grammar School, Creative Education is one of three ‘pillars’ on which the School’s programmes and curricula are built. Not only did Ian lay the foundation stone for the pillar of Creative Education, as the largest private donor to the SPACE, but for the past five years, he and his wife Min have propped it up. Over this period, they have donated an additional $1 million towards the implementation and progression of Creative Education – an incredibly generous act of philanthropy, though the label ‘philanthropist’ is one that sits uncomfortably with Ian. Watching the film version of his play The Twins, in which he co-stars with his school friend Greg Fleet (A’79), is the best and most entertaining way to find out why Ian would prefer not to be known as a philanthropist. In a nutshell, it is because he does not want to be seen as someone who just puts his hand in his pocket. To Ian, monetary giving is an opportunity to create lasting change by combining funding with action. “Engaged philanthropy is really important – that means a group of likeminded donors aligning with sector partners, generating leverage by pooling resources, finding the right partners, and sticking with it for many years. It’s an investment.”

Watching his play The Twins, in which he co-stars with his school friend Greg Fleet (A’79), is the best and most entertaining way to find out why Ian would prefer not be known as a philanthropist. In a nutshell, it is because he does not want to be seen as someone who just puts his hand in his pocket.

Ian’s decision to invest in Geelong Grammar School began with a tap on the shoulder by his friend Jeremy Kirkwood (FB’79), then chair of School Council. “He asked me if I would help with the building of a new theatre, which was desperately needed to replace the old Bracebridge Wilson theatre. I was the chair of the Sydney Theatre Company and on the board of NIDA, and so in a practical sense I understood the benefits of establishing a world class creative space.” Crucially, Ian was not interested in simply funding a building. “So often the creation of a new building can be a catalyst for a shift in thinking or learning”, explained Ian. Geelong Grammar School had form here, with the opening of the School’s Handbury Centre for Wellbeing in 2008 being the catalyst for the introduction of Positive Education. Similarly, Ian knew that a new performing arts venue must be the catalyst for introducing Creative Education to the School.

Ian refers to this model as the ‘hardware/ software’ approach. “From a fundraising point of view, there was a very positive reaction from donors because they knew that their money was not just going into bricks and mortar but also towards bringing Creative Education into the School. It was vitally important that creativity was at the heart of the building, including its name.” The resulting School for Performing Arts and Creative Education, known and loved as the SPACE, is a building that brings people together as well as having the infrastructure to promote excellence in the arts. “We thought hard about how to design a building that was flexible and served as a hub of the School, which could be used in many different creative ways – a place of community that would strengthen the role of the arts.” Opened in 2015, the SPACE has become such an integral part of the School, serving so many different needs, that it is hard to imagine life without it. Overwhelmingly, it has met its brief of bringing people together. It is a building in which possibilities stir, and memories are made.

Significantly, the building of the SPACE resulted in the leverage that is always Ian’s philanthropic goal. When he and Min offered to donate an additional $1 million towards the implementation of Creative Education, it was very important to Ian that the School was prepared to match their donation. Then, to his delight, the Foundation made the same pledge, and their $1 million became a $3 million investment. “It showed not only how much the School believed in Creative Education but also those who were guiding the allocation of resources for the future benefit of the School were prepared to back it too. It was a powerful three-way initiative that enabled the School to honour the commitment of donors who put up the $20 million for the SPACE. It was vital that we followed through and fulfilled our pledge.”

Investing, like creativity, does not happen without taking risks, but Ian was comfortable donating ‘risk capital’ because Creative Education was new and therefore any measure of its success needed to be flexible. “Five years on, Creative Education is still being pursued, the School has a model of applying it, and funding has increased. Those are the rewards at this stage. The real proof will be over the next 20 years as a whole generation go through, and past students will be able to talk about how their education affected their thinking when they got into the real world. Philanthropy has a long tail. I had a very positive experience at Geelong Grammar School, and I was very much a beneficiary of the generosity of many philanthropists in generations before. Time is an enormously valuable commodity in terms of philanthropy.”

While he waits to see what the students of the Creative Education generation will bring to the world, Ian is content to enjoy the return on social capital from his investment and to encourage others to adopt his model of purposeful and strategic philanthropy. “Many of my peers, the students and families of the 1970s, have been very generous in recent years, and the major supporters of Positive Education, Creative Education and scholarships. It’s time now for more students and families of the 1980s and 1990s to join us by getting more involved. The opportunity for philanthropic support at Geelong Grammar is enormous because it’s such a large community and there are so many people with incredible expertise and goodwill. If you’re able to assist with the provision of buildings or programmes at the School you’ll be affecting future generations, and that feels pretty good.”

See our talented students performing in the state-of-the-art SPACE building. https:// www.ggs.vic.edu.au/drama-productions