Who is your unsung hero?

After weeks of Zooming and working closely with Societies to prepare for their 2020/21 lecture season, I am pleased to return to my blog with fresh ideas and themes. This post is on a subject close to my heart as I have received many moving reports about the extraordinary things our Members have achieved since March. So I thought we should look for our unsung heroes and ask you:

Does your Society have a Member whose actions have made a real difference in recent months, but whose work isn’t always in the spotlight? If so, our magazine’s editor, Sue Herdman, would like to hear from you.

There’s a quote, attributed to the Classicist Mary Beard, that goes: ‘I have lots of heroes and heroines, mostly unsung and including my husband.’

It’s those unsung heroes that are the theme of this blog.

As our Members know, The Arts Society Magazine is always looking for great stories. We seek those tales that really illustrate the impact of the work our Societies do.

But no Society works alone.

The identity and energy of each is drawn from its Members – and among those are the unsung heroes who make a true difference to the life of their Society. We’re talking about those Members who are always there when something needs to be done. The person who quietly trailblazes ideas and sees them through. The character who embodies what your Society is about, but who would never blow their own trumpet to say so. The person who does significant deeds, but in a behind-the-scenes way.

We particularly look for stories that highlight the remarkable efforts of such people during the current pandemic.

Obscure heroes, as Victor Hugo’s Les Misérables protagonist Marius said, are ‘sometimes greater than illustrious heroes’. We’d argue that they are often greater.

So who would you nominate as your Society’s unsung hero? What is their story and why do you think they should be recognised for what they do?

Here’s the challenge: tell us that story in just 100 words.

Send your nomination to magazine@theartssociety.org by 1st September 2020.

Sue Herdman, Editor, The Arts Society Magazine

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This blog is composed by Florian Schweizer, CEO of The Arts Society, and made up of contributions by him and invited guest bloggers.