How do funding bodies determine which proposals are most valuable? How accountable are publicly-funded artists to taxpayers? François Matarasso considers the competing demands in arts funding.
‘Arguments about the theory, policy and practice of public funding for the arts have been the tinnitus of my professional life. It is always there and, though I can often ignore it, it is a legitimate question for everyone who works in the field. Sometimes it demands attention. It relates to wider questions of taxation, public services and values that define the landscape of political debate.
Arts funding cannot be separated from that contested field. Nor should it be separated from other aspects of public policy that affect commercial and voluntary culture, but in truth the argument is mostly conducted on the narrow terrain of what money the Arts Council receives and who gets it.’… Keep reading on Parliament of Dreams
‘Arguments about the theory, policy and practice of public funding for the arts have been the tinnitus of my professional life. It is always there and, though I can often ignore it, it is a legitimate question for everyone who works in the field. Sometimes it demands attention. It relates to wider questions of taxation, public services and values that define the landscape of political debate.
Arts funding cannot be separated from that contested field. Nor should it be separated from other aspects of public policy that affect commercial and voluntary culture, but in truth the argument is mostly conducted on the narrow terrain of what money the Arts Council receives and who gets it.’… Keep reading on Parliament of Dreams