If the marketing is right, it is possible to sell risky shows in hard times, says Rupert Christiansen.
Philanthropy: well, yes, it is rather a boring subject, but an important one at a time when good causes of all kinds need every penny they can muster, and I suppose Lord Browne – formerly chairman of BP and now at the helm of the Tate boardroom – is on the button in the speech he made on Monday at the Royal Society of Arts.
Chiding the new rich for their meanness, Lord B calls for tax incentives to be made more alluring, for role models to set an example and for the media and government to recognize generosity more fulsomely. Nothing new here, but all good horse sense: many people are trying their best and forking out more, but we are still not as good at giving as the Americans – and perhaps just not as flush with disposable income as they are either.
None the less, especially when it comes to the arts, I think too much emphasis is currently being put on ways to rattle the begging bowl more effectively, and not enough on an even more fundamental economic operation – selling something that people want to buy.
Philanthropy: well, yes, it is rather a boring subject, but an important one at a time when good causes of all kinds need every penny they can muster, and I suppose Lord Browne – formerly chairman of BP and now at the helm of the Tate boardroom – is on the button in the speech he made on Monday at the Royal Society of Arts.
Chiding the new rich for their meanness, Lord B calls for tax incentives to be made more alluring, for role models to set an example and for the media and government to recognize generosity more fulsomely. Nothing new here, but all good horse sense: many people are trying their best and forking out more, but we are still not as good at giving as the Americans – and perhaps just not as flush with disposable income as they are either.
None the less, especially when it comes to the arts, I think too much emphasis is currently being put on ways to rattle the begging bowl more effectively, and not enough on an even more fundamental economic operation – selling something that people want to buy.