Proposals for improving workforce diversity in England, making the sector more resilient and increasing access to culture have been sketched out in preparation for the development of its strategy.
Should Arts Council England (ACE) take a more active role in senior leadership and trustee appointments in arts organisations? Or increase the use of time-limited investment? Or provide specific investment for the development of new work?
These are some of the ideas offered up for feedback in a document that sets out the broad intended outline of the national funder’s next 10-year strategy, which is due to be published in autumn 2019 and come into force from April 2020.
ACE is careful to note that the document is neither the strategy nor a draft strategy, but a set of “highly ambitious” outcomes for the sector. It follows extensive research, including consultation with arts workers and almost 5,000 members of the public as well as a review of existing evidence.
Case for change
The document says that the arts are still defined by a ‘postcode lottery’ – with some regions facing sustained barriers to accessing the arts – and a general lack of innovation and risk-taking.
It argues that people’s definition of culture is broad, encompassing activities such as cooking, crafting and watching content on a mobile. It also notes that the public and people working in arts organisations have differing priorities for the use of public funding, with the former seeking to create art that affects local communities, and arts workers more concerned with the quality of the art produced.
“Publicly-funded culture generally serves only a very small percentage of the population – those who tend to be better off and more likely to have a degree,” says the document. “The Arts Council believes that this situation must change”.
It continues: “Over the course of the last ten years, despite a series of investment programmes and policy initiatives… we have not succeeded in delivering systemic change… we will need to do more to hold ourselves, and the organisations we fund, to account so we can deliver this change.”
Outcomes
The framework for the draft strategy sets out seven proposed outcomes. These include ensuring that:
- culture and creativity of every kind is celebrated
- people from all backgrounds benefit from public investment in culture
- England’s diversity is “fully reflected” in funded organisations and the art they produce
- the creative and cultural lives of children and young people are nurtured.
The other outcomes are that cultural organisations are dynamic and focused on the future, that England increases its reputation for the quality of its creative industries, and that creative R&D and talent development continue to flourish.
The document also suggests a series of interventions aimed at achieving these outcomes, such as giving “better support to new forms of culture”, requiring funded organisations to make progress on environmental sustainability targets, and encouraging a “greater turnover of leadership in publicly funded cultural organisations – through succession planning and the use of fixed-term contracts”.
“What we have set out is neither fixed nor final,” explains ACE Deputy CEO Simon Mellor in a blog. “This consultation is your opportunity to test and contribute to our thinking. Do these feel like the right outcomes to you? If so, how might we set about achieving them together? And how might the Arts Council and the organisations we will invest in need to change to deliver these outcomes?”
The consultation will remain open until 2 January 2019. A draft strategy will then be published in spring, followed by further consultation, before the final document is published in autumn 2019.
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