Following the In Battalions festival, Lyn Gardner says that now is the time to start working together, to make sure the arts are firmly on the political agenda by the next election.
Frustrations and emotions ran high at the In Battalions festival, in the wake of recent National Portfolio Organisation NPO funding announcements by the Arts Council England (ACE), which saw the status quo pretty much maintained and only a 2% shift towards the regions.
And this despite the Rebalancing Our Cultural Capital report, which highlighted the inequalities between London and the rest of the country. As one of its co-authors, David Powell, remarked at the festival, the pace of change is frustratingly slow: "There are glaciers melting quicker than this." Boris Johnson was so infuriated by the report, reveals Powell, that he demanded to know who had put the authors up to it and funded it. The answer is no one.
In Battalions came at a good time, reminding those working in theatre that despite their frustrations over the many imperfections of the funding landscape, they can use their creativity to generate solutions, too... Keep reading on The Guardian
Frustrations and emotions ran high at the In Battalions festival, in the wake of recent National Portfolio Organisation NPO funding announcements by the Arts Council England (ACE), which saw the status quo pretty much maintained and only a 2% shift towards the regions.
And this despite the Rebalancing Our Cultural Capital report, which highlighted the inequalities between London and the rest of the country. As one of its co-authors, David Powell, remarked at the festival, the pace of change is frustratingly slow: "There are glaciers melting quicker than this." Boris Johnson was so infuriated by the report, reveals Powell, that he demanded to know who had put the authors up to it and funded it. The answer is no one.
In Battalions came at a good time, reminding those working in theatre that despite their frustrations over the many imperfections of the funding landscape, they can use their creativity to generate solutions, too... Keep reading on The Guardian