By focusing on social inclusivity for the sake of funders, arts organisations are overriding their commitment to artistic freedom, argues Wendy Earle.
The forthcoming General Election feels like it could be the non-event of the year. None of the parties offers a way of taking society forward, or has any solutions to economic stagnation or to the crises in education and the NHS. Where an election should be an opportunity to debate how to respond to radical Islam, the crisis in Ukraine, the future of schooling and much else, we can be pretty sure that this election will be marked by an avoidance of real controversy and dominated by petty differences such as how to deal with tax dodgers. Many people will feel their votes count for little, confirming their pessimism about the political system.
With the failure of political democracy as we know it, the idea of cultural democracy is gaining ground. We hear more and more that the solution to almost every social and political ill lies somewhere in the arts.
Thus the artist Bob and Roberta Smith (real name Patrick Brill) is contesting the election as a member of his 2013 creation, the Art Party, against Michael Gove. He is campaigning for art education in all schools. In a rather directionless and rambling statement explaining his reasons for standing, he says: ‘One of the things that the arts can do in times of difficulty is provide direction and optimism… Keep reading on spiked
The forthcoming General Election feels like it could be the non-event of the year. None of the parties offers a way of taking society forward, or has any solutions to economic stagnation or to the crises in education and the NHS. Where an election should be an opportunity to debate how to respond to radical Islam, the crisis in Ukraine, the future of schooling and much else, we can be pretty sure that this election will be marked by an avoidance of real controversy and dominated by petty differences such as how to deal with tax dodgers. Many people will feel their votes count for little, confirming their pessimism about the political system.
With the failure of political democracy as we know it, the idea of cultural democracy is gaining ground. We hear more and more that the solution to almost every social and political ill lies somewhere in the arts.
Thus the artist Bob and Roberta Smith (real name Patrick Brill) is contesting the election as a member of his 2013 creation, the Art Party, against Michael Gove. He is campaigning for art education in all schools. In a rather directionless and rambling statement explaining his reasons for standing, he says: ‘One of the things that the arts can do in times of difficulty is provide direction and optimism… Keep reading on spiked