Arts funding

The Association of British Orchestras (ABO) has called on Chancellor Jeremy Hunt to put in place measures to support the UK’s orchestral sector in this week's Autumn Statement in the wake of cus to funding from Arts Council England (ACE).

Judith Webster, Chief Executive of ABO, said she is “deeply concerned” by the impact of the removal of some organisations from the ACE's National Portfolio and “significantly reduced” funding for others.

“We are particularly concerned with our members working in opera and contemporary music, where the biggest funding reductions have fallen,” she said. 

“Continued support for our sector is particularly needed at a time when orchestras are still in the early stages of recovery, rebuilding the confidence of live audiences and dealing with the headwinds from the cost-of-living crisis and Brexit.”

The ABO has urged the Chancellor to use Thursday's Autumn Statement to extend the temporary 50% uplifted Orchestra Tax Relief, which is currently due to reduce to 35% from April 1 next year and return to 25% on April 1, 2024.

“An extension to the 50% rate is the critical measure which will allow UK orchestras to rebuild income streams and plan confidently for the future,” Webster said."

Chair of Arts Council England Sir Nicholas Serota should resign over the decision to cut funding from the English National Opera (ENO), a former Director of Productions has said.

In a letter to The Times Sir David Pountney, who was at ENO from 1982-93, described plans to withdraw ACE funding as "brutal and irresponsible".

"There is an argument for rebalancing cultural funding between London and the regions but this requires serious planning," he said.

"The fate of several hundred employees and an institution with a history of 90 years is not to be decided so arbitrarily."

Pountney added that there was no evidence the suggestions by ACE that ENO could potentially be relocated to Manchester had been seriously considered.

"There have been no discussions with Manchester’s existing cultural bodies, let alone with Opera North, which already performs in Manchester, nor any analysis of the necessary investment to create a venue in Manchester appropriate for a national opera company," he said.

"Slashing the money first and considering the resulting options afterwards is totally unprofessional. 

"Sir Nicholas Serota should not have put his name to such a procedure, whatever the pressure from the government (what happened to the 'arm’s length principle'?) and should resign."

Speaking earlier this week on the proposals Serota said that ACE was faced with "some very difficult choices" in making its funding decisions. 

"We decided that we should not spread the misery across every company in the country," he said.

"We should actually identify those companies that we thought could survive a withdrawal of their funding and on which we had faith that they had the ability to respond."

Cultural organisations from across the UK have been invited to apply for funding for projects that help transform communities.

The Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation's Award for Civic Arts Organisations was established in 2020 as a response to the impact of the pandemic and offers a total of £150,000 to organisations that are helping to transform communities.

This year’s award will be on the theme of “co-creating the future”, with the aim of funding projects that ignite joy, hope, compassion and energy, improve wellbeing, forge new connections, or develops solutions.

“In difficult times, it’s more important than ever that art and culture are available to everyone,” said Louisa Hooper, Director of the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation’s UK branch. 

“By prioritising co-creation, this year we’re looking to recognise organisations that create lasting change by working with and in communities to address their needs and concerns, deepen relationships and use arts and creativity to enable positive change.”

Recipients of previous editions of the award include the first studio sanctuary for asylum seekers in the UK, established at The Art House in Wakefield, and a collective of neurodivergent artists and activists based in Hastings.

The award “is vitally important in encouraging and rewarding genuine engagement and co-creation with local communities”, said Baroness Bull, Chair of the award panel.

“In the years since the award was founded, we’ve seen hundreds of entries from organisations across the UK demonstrating a commitment to changing lives through art.”