?It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity??
The plot
London, England: The Arts Council of England (ACE) celebrates Gordon Brown?s largesse (p3) whilst it works out how best to divvy up the spoils.
A lion?s share seems set to find a home with Creative Partnerships ? the as yet unproven (but currently being piloted) scheme being rolled out nationally later in the year. With a further £75m a year within the next three years, plus the predicted saving of £8-£10m a year in administrative overhead once ACE finally lays its (as yet undetailed) restructuring egg, it will soon be awash with cash? meanwhile? Cardiff, Wales: Clawing its way back after a series of near fatal mishaps in recent years, the Arts Council of Wales (ACW) publishes a fully researched five year development strategy, based on a national consultation exercise (p1).The corporate plan, written to persuade the National Assembly for Wales to release the cash, is objective-led, prioritised, and fully costed, but those in the know still reckon that there?s a snowball?s chance in hell of getting what they can now prove they really need.
The denouement
So where will the guillotine finally fall? It depends. Let?s hope that Wales gets its dues. Even those who don?t feel that ACW?s strategy does them personally any favours, must surely admit that the efforts it is making to put its house in order after its humbling dealings with the Auditor General for Wales are to be applauded. Clear priorities have been set; and measurable targets are firmly in the public domain; so even if ACW doesn?t manage to extract the full £27m from the Assembly, at least it?s on a firmer footing for the future. By contrast, England is playing for high stakes, pinning its colours to a couple of very shaky masts. If ?Creative Partnerships? fails to achieve the government?s ?social inclusion? goals for the arts (whatever they may be), and ACE?s "radical reforms" (which, according to Tessa Jowell, are the reason why the arts have been "rewarded" with a down-payment) cost more than they save, then the future for arts funding in England will be bleak. ACE is being trusted to deliver great things for England?s arts (not to mention its Government), and if doesn?t deliver, then it will be artists and arts organisations that pay the price. Another 20 years of Scrooge-like funding are sure to follow. Whether it is worthy of that trust is yet to be seen; and worryingly, there are too many unknown factors for us to judge whether that trust is well placed.
Have a good summer! ArtsProfessional returns on August 26