Arts Council Funding Cuts

[Bryn]

I was looking for the ENO thread, but this probably a better place

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/feb/20/opera-defund-top-companies-funds-politics-artists

Just as depressing as the subject itself is the ignorance and prejudice displayed in the comments. An ignorant (as in uninformed, not in the perjoritive sense) population is a vulnerable population.

Shades of Mao Zedong's "An army without culture is a dull-witted army, and a dull-witted army cannot defeat the enemy". Never mind the source, the point is valid.

[Ein Heldenleben]

Yes it is. I would say that the world of opera needs to be brought up to date a little bit more than what's involved in the inclusion of conservative living composers such as George Benjamin, but of course the point here is that, in comparison to other European countries where opera is taken seriously, the UK is run by a combination of toffs and philistines for a combination of toffs and philistines (some of course are the same people!), which is a toxic mixture when it comes to connecting culture to its audience, actual and potential. "Opera on your tablet" - what the hell is that supposed to mean? Opera is an artform involving a live audience and a large number of coordinated participants from several different creative disciplines - and this is the other point, which Charlotte Higgins doesn't make in the article although I'm sure she would agree with: this involves the employment of hundreds of highly trained people, who are now going to be looking for jobs, when artistic production is actually one of the few professions not directly or indirectly threatened by automation, so that the cultural sector should be growing rather than shrinking. And not just for this reason but for reasons of inclusivity: the answer to the problem of some artform being perceived as elitist is not to remove funding from it in favour of some box-ticking exercise or other, but to add funding overall so that everything that deserves to be included is included. But obviously the shareholders in privatised energy companies are much more deserving.

Mind you, having attended an opera production in Aix-en-Provence I can say there are things about the place that Manchester and Birmingham can't really offer...

All very good points - particularly on the future proof nature of the cultural sphere.
I didn’t have time to read all 800 Guardian comments ( a lot for a culture piece ) but slightly contrary to OOO’s original gloss many of them are very supportive of opera. There are several from working class people who , like me , don’t buy the “it’s just for the toffs , why should I care ? “ argument and some very intelligent historical analysis . In the immediate post war climate very few people would have disputed the wisdom of public subsidy of the Arts (or indeed broadcasting ) but now we seem to be the only European country where such views are commonplace .

[JasonPalmer]

Perhaps we should just abolish the arts council and let the market decide the offerings, otherwise it is an unfair playing field really.

[Ein Heldenleben]

Perhaps we should just abolish the arts council and let the market decide the offerings, otherwise it is an unfair playing field really.

I don’t think you will find many supporters of that idea on this thread or indeed or in this forum.

[french frank]

Perhaps we should just abolish the arts council and let the market decide the offerings, otherwise it is an unfair playing field really.

The market is an unfair playing field anyway, like Djokovic playing the Somerset junior champion.

[JasonPalmer]

Yea, best scrap the arts council and stand back to let the market work its magic. Classic fm could buy radio 3.

The proms presented by classic fm with compare Alan tictchmarch.

Petroc breakfast classics sponsored by Ginster Cornish pasties.

[french frank]

Jason, this was a sensible debate about a subject that many people are very concerned about. Perhaps you could make your contributions appropriate to that?

Yea, best scrap the arts council and stand back to let the market work its magic. Classic fm could buy radio 3.

The proms presented by classic fm with compare Alan tictchmarch.

Petroc breakfast classics sponsored by Ginster Cornish pasties.

[RichardB]

Yea, best scrap the arts council and stand back to let the market work its magic. Classic fm could buy radio 3.

The proms presented by classic fm with compare Alan tictchmarch.

Petroc breakfast classics sponsored by Ginster Cornish pasties.

If it's all just a joke to you, I suggest you find some other outlet for trolling like this, and not this forum.

[Ein Heldenleben]

The market is an unfair playing field anyway, like Djokovic playing the Somerset junior champion.

Which is why we have public subsidy and market regulation : to address market failure. Otherwise we end up with a system where only the relatively rich have access to the arts, culture , health care , broadcasting , education etc. The problem with subsidy is it can introduce market distortion, inflated salaries , inefficiencies - but I see little evidence of that in the Arts sector - apart from arguably some feather bedding in the Arts Counil itself and one or two of the larger production cultural bureaucracies. But compared to say defence industries or , as has been mentioned above , the PPE scandal it’s peanuts.

[Ein Heldenleben]

If it's all just a joke to you, I suggest you find some other outlet for trolling like this, and not this forum.

Trouble is there are quite a few in positions of power who believe this and would love it if we went the way of the US. The Arts are being ground down between the libertarian right and an indifferent centre -left who largely prefer Glasto.

[RichardB]

apart from arguably some feather bedding in the Arts Council itself and one or two of the larger production cultural bureaucracies.

Quite so. As in higher education, whole layers of management have been conjured into existence which make life more difficult for artists, do nothing for audiences, and do the very opposite of addressing the biggest problem in the cultural sector which is underfunding. Why is leaving everything to the market acceptable in the provision of music and the other arts when it obviously isn't acceptable in, for example, banking?

[Ein Heldenleben]

Quite so. As in higher education, whole layers of management have been conjured into existence which make life more difficult for artists, do nothing for audiences, and do the very opposite of addressing the biggest problem in the cultural sector which is underfunding. Why is leaving everything to the market acceptable in the provision of music and the other arts when it obviously isn't acceptable in, for example, banking?

The “subsidy” given to the banking sector in the form of the 2009 bailout had an estimated final cost of £23 billion - enough to fund the Arts Council for the next 56 years.

[Frances_iom]

Trouble is there are quite a few in positions of power who believe this and would love it if we went the way of the US. The Arts are being ground down between the libertarian right and an indifferent centre -left who largely prefer Glasto.

The target of RichardB's comment used to self describe as a "silly man who listens to the radio" - I note he has recently removed this but judging from his various comments he sounds very much the target that R3 now seeks - I'm afraid that those ancient enough to have listened to the third or even the first decade of R3 are basically unwanted, unloved and obviously increasingly unwelcome by R3 controllers - why seek an audience who listens critically when you can find a much bigger one who find things just "lovely".

[Ein Heldenleben]

The target of RichardB's comment used to self describe as a "silly man who listens to the radio" - I note he has recently removed this but judging from his various comments he sounds very much the target that R3 now seeks - I'm afraid that those ancient enough to have listened to the third or even the first decade of R3 are basically unwanted, unloved and obviously increasingly unwelcome by R3 controllers - why seek an audience who listens critically when you can find a much bigger one who find things just "lovely".

There are still plenty of good things to be had. Saturdays Turn of The Screw and last nights Seagull to mention but two. Without public subsidy we would have neither. Chekhov used to be produced commercially on the West End - not any more. The real cultural collapse has been in places like that and ITV not Radio 3.

[oddoneout]

Quite so. As in higher education, whole layers of management have been conjured into existence which make life more difficult for artists, do nothing for audiences, and do the very opposite of addressing the biggest problem in the cultural sector which is underfunding. Why is leaving everything to the market acceptable in the provision of music and the other arts when it obviously isn't acceptable in, for example, banking?

Which are useful only(but importantly in certain circles)for giving the impression of activity, while doing nothing productive.