Arts policy-makers from around the world gathered last month in Newcastle Gateshead for the third World Summit on Arts and Culture. The event brought together more than 500 delegates from over 80 countries to discuss the role of culture in regeneration. Discussions focused on the role of governments in supporting and funding cultural activity and the challenges facing arts professionals in the twenty-first century. Below we present a selection of quotes from some of the speakers, along with an edited version of the opening address by Culture Secretary, Tessa Jowell.
Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell:
The double helix of excellence and access that everyone, regardless of their background, wealth or education has the right to experience the very best that arts can offer has been the Arts Councils DNA for the last sixty years. And at the heart of that vision was the Arts Council as a public institution. Yes, this means public funding (but lets call it investment, not subsidy) but it is also much more than that.
Public because the Council was founded to represent the interests of the public not the desires of politicians. Public because culture is inherently social, formed through sometimes heated public debate, discussion and deliberation. Public because just as a healthy democracy is one where everyone not only has the right to vote but does so, the cultural life of a country is similarly enriched through the sustained access and participation of the people. There have of course been challenges to the organisation over time. Funding has ebbed and flowed. Im proud to say that our record in office is one which marks it clearly as a time of flow, doubling the Arts Councils funding since 1997. But the principle that decisions on the arts should be taken at arms-length, free from political influence, has been a constant, and one to which I am committed.
That freedom to make decisions freely without interference from the state or the market has never been more important. The arts and culture are the means through which some of the most pressing issues confronting us can be and in some instances can only be explored and then understood.
Artists have the skills and opportunities to ask questions about and of society. At their best, artists challenge us to broaden our horizons and see the familiar anew. The arts provide the space to explore and affirm personal, community and national identity. Some views will be challenging or even offensive to others. My views on this are a matter of record and ones I want to restate firmly today. Freedom of artistic expression is a fundamental principle of a free society. But this is not liberty as licence. Freedom of expression is not the freedom to insult, degrade or incite. But the freedom to resist, contest and question. I like many others have been to events where I found the words or images used offensive. Where I was wrenched out of my personal comfort zone, and into something darker. So be it.
It is the right arguably the duty of the artist to challenge and provoke. Giving offence is rarely a legitimate end in itself, but it is sometimes the inevitable outcome of artistic exploration. A confident and cohesive society is prepared to accept this. Thats why it is so important for Arts Councils to have deep roots in public life. And it must be the duty of government to protect and promote an Arts Councils public status... Culture is not optional it is everything, because it is culture that shows what it is to be human.
Sir Ken Robinson (cultural strategist)
The fact that there is an economic argument for culture doesnt mean the argument is economic& New technology and the population shift have created an ecological and an ideological crisis for the world. Cultural policy can play a role in addressing these themes.
David Puttnam (film producer and President of UNICEF UK)
We come from a tradition where a group of people create and show art to others. Are we then flexible enough to engage with young people in their terms?
Peter Hewitt (Chief Executive, Arts Council England)
Arts Council England needs a new relationship with government, a new understanding with artists and needs to be much better connected internationally.
Sir Christopher Frayling (Chair, Arts Council England)
Maybe we can all work towards evolving some kind of international policy for the arts one which joins up more effectively the many disparate institutions and elements which exist in this area, with a view to shared practice, debate, dialogue, kinship and even solidarity.
Rick Lowe (Founder Project Row houses, Houston, USA)
Artists should be at the forefront of regenerating the places where people live.
Justice Albie Sachs (Justice of the Constitutional Court of South Africa)
Public buildings should have the passion, the spirit, the eye, the vision
of artists.