Chair of Arts Council England warns of Government attempts to ?amputate the arm?s- length principle.?
Sir Christopher Frayling, Chair of Arts Council England (ACE), has used the publication of a comprehensive piece of research into public reactions to the arts to assert the value of culture and demand greater support from the Government. Addressing an invited audience at the RSA, he spoke of his concerns that, under the weight of prescriptive Government requirements, ?the arm?s-length principle may be slowly ebbing away? the Arts Council is increasingly seen as an extension of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.?
Frayling?s speech coincided with the publication of ?Arts in England?, a detailed investigation into public attitudes, which reveals that 80% of those questioned had attended at least one arts event in 2003. The research also found that 79% of people felt that the arts should receive public funding. This was an increase from 74% in 2001 when the last such survey was conducted. Participation in the arts had also increased, with nearly 90% of respondents having taken part in some form of cultural activity over the course of the year. Commissioned by ACE and carried out by the Office for National Statistics, the survey was immediately used to push the Government for sustained support for both the arts and the Arts Council. Describing this as a ?Golden Age?, and mindful of the approaching negotiations for the renewal of the licence for the National Lottery, Frayling?s speech set out the case for continued inclusion of the arts among the Lottery Good causes. He also rejected criticisms of ACE as being inefficient, ?Despite what?s been written in some quarters lately, the Arts Council has a success story to tell here. As a direct result of the big restructuring in 2002? we have already saved £5.6m per year. By 2006, the arts funding system will cost £7m less to run than it would cost if the reorganisation had not taken place? These are huge percentage efficiency gains? which also left a healthier, slimmer, modernised organisation.?
Frayling also used the speech as a public opportunity to rebuild fences with Government, damaged by what he called ?angry words? exchanged over the terms of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport?s spending allocation to ACE. He praised Labour?s level of investment over the past five years and acknowledged the impact Lottery funding had had on the arts scene nationally. He also forcefully emphasised that art should be funded on grounds of quality and value and not for the impact it can have on social inclusion, suggesting that this type of activity could be better funded by ?the larger empires of Health, Transport and Education?. He went further, suggesting that using art for social regeneration can backfire, warning ?sometimes, as we know, artists are even the shock troops of gentrification?.
The Arts in England report can be found at http://www.artscouncil.org.uk