Revamped risk guidance from Arts Council England (ACE) marks "a complete turnaround" in its position on political or activist statements, according to artists' union.
Figures across the arts have broadly welcomed Arts Council England's reworking of its guidance on risk management for its regularly funded organisations.
The changes, made in response to widespread criticism that the advice could cause National Portfolio Organisations to restrict artistic freedoms out of concern for their funding positions, represent “a complete turnaround”, said Loraine Monk, Joint National Chair of Artists' Union England (AUE).
“[The original risk guidance] was clearly an attempt to censor artists' freedom of expression, and we welcome anything that says they are actually supporting freedom of expression,” said Monk.
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“We welcome the [updated] wording, and we will continue to watch what happens in practice.”
“But we're going to continue to hold them to account to ensure that they fulfil this new pledge that they are not going to remove or refuse funding because people make political work.”
'Culture of fear'
Asked how ACE could have better approached the creation of its guidance in the first place, Monk said: “It calls into question again how the Arts Council operates. How people are appointed to the board, and whether they really do reflect the organisations of this country and share the values of our democratic and diverse communities.
“They are making a culture of fear about what people feel they can express and whether they can express it clearly. Even now [with the update], I think people are very careful of what they express.
“[AU] will be looking at how we can make a more open culture because I think people are still expressing sentiments that then get called out, which isn't good for artistic development."
'Political overtones'
Monk noted that AUE was one of “many” organisations and individuals to “decry and criticise” the guidance directly to ACE before the issue gained widespread attention on social media.
“We were, like every other organisation, amazed when they made this statement, which so clearly had political overtones, against everything we thought artists should be doing.
“We just got a holding [response] like everyone else, that they were going to be reviewing what they were doing. My understanding is we didn't get the clarification we were asking for until yesterday (February 28).
“The positive thing is that so many people did react to this and did make their feelings known. And [ACE] felt they had to respond, that's got to be welcomed; they did realise that they've gone too far.
"It’s great news; it’s amazing how they retracted."
'An unsettling episode'
On X, Campaign for the Arts said it “warmly welcomes” the revised policies for regularly-funded organisations.
“Artistic freedom is essential, and we all benefit from a more open, expressive democracy and society,” said the alliance for arts and culture.
“Today's revisions clearly affirm this.”
Meanwhile, environmental activist group Culture Declares Emergency said it was "grateful" that ACE's "chilling warning" had been reconsidered.
The group added: "Still, in the current climate of culture wars and threats to peaceful protest, this has been an unsettling episode. We hope that ACE will resist future efforts to suppress creativity and dissent."
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