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VISUAL ARTS Thank you for your open letter to Tessa Jowell, about government funding of the arts, published in the February 2005 edition of The Jackdaw. Tessa has asked me to reply on her behalf. I know that you are sceptical of the arm’s length principle under which the Arts Council operates. However, governments of all political opinions have agreed that this is the best way forward for arts funding to be distributed. This maintains a distance between Ministers and decision makers thus avoiding the possibility of inappropriate government influence and interference. I have asked colleagues Arts Council England to respond to your comments, Their views are as follows: Mr Lee asserts... “that Arts Council England’s visual arts department’s work ‘has had the effect of excluding swathes of art and artists from help’. He... “illustrates this by reference to the Arts Council’s recent publication Market Matters. To clarify, this publication described the international art market for the general reader and is not an Arts Council policy statement. The regional offices of Arts Council England allocate direct support for artists and art organisations. The national office visual arts department is responsible for research, strategy and developing policy with external advisors. The department has initiated, and is implementing, a National Framwork Plan for visual artists, which has driven the Arts Council’s agenda for putting the artist at the core of its work. There is a very large body of evidence which shows increasing Arts Council support for the individual artist through direct grants, and artists’ support agencies such as the Artists’ Information Campany and Artquest, These (sic) agencies advise on contracts, fees, exhibitions and commissioning opportunities to help all artists, from the international stars, to the young graduate and the late career artists. The Arts Council has conducted extensive research on the earnings and the economy for artists. Market Matters was the sequel to the major report Taste Buds that looked at the domestic market covering the work of all living artists. A pending report Making it to Market, addresses the crafts. Arts Council England direct grants for the support and presentation of new work 2000-4 allocated £6 million to 852 grants to individual artists for animation, graphic design, new media to fine art, photography, crafts and live art. 73 of the Arts Councils regularly funded organisations commissioned 854 works from 1,217 artists in 2002/3. This covered a wide range of contemporary art and craft, some ‘challenging’, some more modernist, some traditional. Lottery capital awards have totalled some £70 million for a range of visual art amd crafts commissions. Over 95% were considered in an impact study to be accessible to a general audience. Arts Council England has prioritised workspaces and studios investing £69 million to date. A recent Arts Council England report on Open Studios events, some supported by the Arts Council, showed artists had made £1.5 m. in sales. Many artists work outside the international art market described in Market Matters and it is this broader market the Arts Council supports. It also acknowledges that it is important for the UK to maintain its high standing internationally and for some venues to focus on international programmes and collaborations. Many of these also show historically important twentieth century artists and hold open shows of wide ranging work by regional artists (Whitechapel Open, Oxford Open. (sic) The Hayward Gallery tours 30 shows a year giving regional venues, including libraries, and their audience of 2m, a range of historical, modernist and contemporary art. I think the picture, then, is richer and more equitable than you and your readers may have been led to believe.” I hope these comments are helpful Yours Phil Clapp, Arts Division | ||||||||
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