It’s the kind of crisis arts leaders are becoming a lot more familiar with. Such was the case last month when WA Museum announced it had renewed a longstanding partnership with energy company Woodside Energy. The community outrage resulted in a protest outside the WA Maritime Museum on its free – Woodside sponsored – family open day on 17 August. As reported recently in The Guardian, in the lead up to the event WA Museum’s chief executive Alec Coles sent out an all-staff email to address workers’ concerns over the backlash. But despite its good intentions, the email is now being discussed as a cautionary tale that others can learn from.