Arts funding research

Whilst 49% of Arts Council England (ACE) stakeholders believe that the public should be the main beneficiary of public funding of the arts, only 18% believe this is the case, according to the latest findings from ACE Stakeholder Focus research. A survey which gathered the views of artists, arts organisations, local authorities and other ACE partners has also revealed that 30% think artists should benefit most from arts funding: only 11% feel that this is currently true, while 50% feel that arts organisations benefit most. A parallel survey among the general public found that more than half of adults in England support the concept of public funding of the arts, while a third are neutral and only 14% opposed. Over two-thirds of respondents had heard of ACE, but the majority of these know nothing about the organisation. Of those who had heard of ACE, 36% regard it favourably.