The arts are a driving force in regeneration, according to Andy Burnham (p1) as he hails Liverpool 2008. Yet the arts are also threatened by regeneration, according to the splendidly-monickered National Federation of Artists’ Studio Providers or NFASP (p3). While it’s good to have a Culture Secretary who seems to recognise the artistic, the social and the economic benefits of the arts, it’s a bit worrying that, in the overall picture, some dots remain to be joined up. The East End of London is a case in point – the Royal Opera House and its attendant suppliers have been banished and are now happily shacking up with the National Skills Academy in the Thames Gateway. Smaller practitioners, those archetypal artists living on bean stew in ill-heated garrets, won’t easily find somewhere else to go. The arts should beware of being used to liven up and gentrify an area, and then being chucked out because they can’t make the rent. The period of security and positive attention that artists and small arts organisations can expect in regeneration areas could prove shorter than we might hope. Part of the problem is that artists and arts organisations don’t tend to care if the paintwork is scarred or the windows ill-fitting, as long as they have an affordable space. Another message that is coming through loud and clear is that the arts, whatever their stature in the eyes of the world, are bumping along the bottom in the statistics tables for the creative industries (p3). Snuggling up with the likes of design, publishing, video, software and the art market might give us the feeling of safety in numbers, but being the runt of the litter is not a comfortable position. The direct contribution that the arts can make to the economy is never going to be huge. However, while we may not earn much from exports, we still have the opportunity to dominate the cultural diplomacy stakes, especially if the British Council finally gets it act together (p3). The economic case is always going to be indirect, incidental and difficult to prove, even when it’s completely obvious to the meanest intelligence. Let us hope that the recognition currently available on both sides of the political divide will continue – we need that counterbalance to keep us afloat.
