Criticisms of ACE?s processes continue as major funding changes are confirmed.
Arts Council England (ACE) Chair Christopher Frayling admitted that “we have learnt something, and arts organisations have learnt something too” in the wake of its latest funding review, announced last week. A small number of funding proposals have been revised, while 81 new regularly funded organisations (RFOs) have been added since ACE first announced its funding intentions in December (see AP161 and 162). Of the 194 RFOs due to lose their funding, ten have been reprieved, including Eastern Angles and the Northcott Theatre in Exeter. Several will still face reductions or special conditions attached to the funding package, including Arts & Business, which is set to lose £2m (see p3). Of 35 organisations marked for reduced funding, seven have had their grants totally or partly restored, including London’s Bush Theatre and the Crafts Council. A number of legal challenges are likely to be made, with Watermans in Hounslow having already announced that it is to appeal. The revision of ACE’s proposals does not affect any of the uplift proposals made to other RFOs, and the review makes a number of major awards. The Cultural Leadership Programme, previously funded directly by the DCMS, will get a further £10m. The largest rise in percentage terms is for the Norfolk and Norwich Festival, with an 8-fold increase to support an international programme. The largest cash uplift goes to the Roundhouse in London, which receives £400,000, while new RFOs include the Barbican for its new music programme and Artichoke for a development package including providing training opportunities for British artists and emerging producers. A total of 888 organisations will receive regular funding from April, a net reduction of about 100.
ACE, which describes its announcement as “an ambitious vision for the future”, says that its strategy “is designed to shape and support an arts sector committed to delivering excellent art… and one empowered to take artistic risk”. However, heavy criticism of how the process has been carried out continues to be levelled by companies and commentators. Actors’ union Equity has called for “fundamental change at the Arts Council. They have become isolated and acted in a high-handed manner.” [[The organisation has to learn from this process. We will be using an external eye to identify what those lessons are.]] Derek Nicholls, President of the TMA, called for ACE to work closely “with the industry and other investors, such as local authorities”, and identified the recently published McMaster Report (see p8) as “a good starting point”. Frayling indicated that some form of peer review, one of McMaster’s main recommendations, will be pursued in the near future, and suggested that “the Northcott might be a good candidate for early peer review”.
He also alluded to a number of ‘matters arising’ from which ACE would learn in the future, specifically citing the need to improve the relationship between the regional and the national bodies. ACE’s new Chief Executive, Alan Davey, said, “The organisation has to learn from this process. We will be using an external eye to identify what those lessons are.”
The full list of regularly funded organisations and those losing their funding can now be found at http://www.artscouncil.org.uk/funding