Better planning, creativity and collaboration should result from the creation of a new Arts Board by the BBC, announced by BBC Director-General, Mark Thompson, as part of “a deeper commitment to arts and music on the BBC”. A new Arts Editor role is to be created within BBC News, and new partnerships, including with the Public Catalogue Foundation (PCF) and Arts Council England (ACE), will put more content online. The BBC plans to work with the PCF to “enable the public to view every one of the UK’s 200,000 publicly owned paintings online” by 2012, while the partnership with ACE could result in putting ACE’s film collection, including documentaries and performances, online for the first time. The corporation also plans a “pan-BBC Poetry season” during 2009. The new Arts Board will be sponsored by Director of Vision, Jana Bennett, and Director of Audio and Music, Tim Davie, and bring together senior arts and creative leaders from across the organisation. The Board will also draw on external experts and stakeholders to assist it “to join up and maximise the programming that the BBC delivers in the arts and music space”. The BBC’s plans have been generally well received in the arts sector. Nick Capaldi, Chief Executive of the Arts Council of Wales, said, “We welcome the BBC’s move to raise the profile of its arts coverage... [and] the creation of the Arts Board, and hope that the BBC will include representatives who are active in the arts world.” An ACE spokesperson called it a “welcome move forward”, but added that “the BBC has a missed real opportunity to put partnership into practice by not inviting arts professionals to join the board to contribute fresh insight and an informed external perspective”.
