Arts Council England funding gives us access to creativity that the private sector could not achieve on its own, writes Ivan Hewett. But with the agency now placing 'relevance' at the heart of its decision making, are we in danger of losing art for art’s sake?
'Once again, the Arts Council of England has been accused of dumbing down the nation’s cultural life. It’s an accusation that’s often been made in the Council’s 74 years of existence, but this one comes at an especially significant moment. The ACE is now in the process of devising a strategy for the next 10 years, and it’s come up with something that seems both scarily radical and strangely familiar.
In April, the ACE’s deputy director Simon Mellor declared that, from now on, the litmus test for determining whether an arts organisation deserved support would be “relevance”. He also warned that “it will no longer be enough to produce high quality work… You will need to be able to demonstrate that you are also facing all of your stakeholders and communities in ways that they value.” '... Keep reading on The Telegraph