Ed Vaizey, Minister for Culture, Communications and the Creative Industries, recently stated that the UK’s cultural sector is in rude health. Graham Hitchen agrees, but argues that it has nothing to do with the Coalition’s policies – and that unless things change, in ten years time it will be a very sick patient indeed.
Last week, Newcastle City Council passed a 100% cut to its arts budget while at the same time agreeing to contribute £600,000 to a new fund for culture. Alison Clark-Jenkins, a regional director for Arts Council England, reveals the behind-the-scenes battle that led to the fund’s creation.
An open dialogue between arts practitioners, public funders and the public is vital in developing the arts for the benefit of the wider community, says Arts Professional Editor Liz Hill.
In Joshua Sofaer’s latest Artist as leader interview for a-n, artist Richard Layzell and businessman Richard Hicks discuss Layzell’s seven-year tenure as ‘Visionaire’ at AIT software company. Here, Layzell writes about what came next and the continued relevance of his experience in industry a decade on.
Policy makers often outsource consultation to independent specialists, but do they get the full story or just the tidied up version? Ahead of Creative Scotland’s open meetings series, the arts professional behind Stramash Arts shares first-hand experience of having the ifs, buts and maybes expunged from the conversation that led to the funding body’s creation.
The artist Bob and Roberta Smith believes that the withdrawal from sale of Banksy’s Slave Labour mural sends a clear message about art in the public realm, from graffiti to Henry Moore sculptures.
Arts Council England is funding six projects in cultural ‘cold spots’ as part of its Creative People and Places programme. Chris Bailey argues that the scheme’s assumptions about community participation in the arts need to be challenged.
Kevin Harrison, Director of Stirling arts agency Artlink Central, responds to Stirling Council’s recent decision to close The Changing Room, the city’s only contemporary art gallery.
While Michael Gove’s recent scrapping of the English Baccalaureate Certificate is welcome, Q-art Director Sarah Rowles suggests that there’s much more work to be done when it comes to the wider issue of art education.
EBC plans aside, the EBacc performance measure still does not include a sixth ‘arts pillar’, says Rosy Greenlees, Executive Director, Crafts Council.
A week after announcing the closure of Cardiff-based contemporary art agency Mermaid & Monster, its Director takes a close look at the art ecology of Wales and finds plenty to be concerned about.
In the light of Arts Council England’s recent capital grants announcement, Alistair Gentry asks when investment in the work of new, financially strapped artists will be given the same priority.
Dame Liz Forgan’s farewell speech has been widely reported on for its attack on Michael Gove and the EBacc. Here, arts strategist and Thinking Practice founder Mark Robinson welcomes her forthright approach while finding plenty to take issue with.
Over two years since it was commissioned, Anthony McCall’s contribution to Artists Taking the Lead is yet to materialise. But beyond the obvious issues around public funding and value, what does a project like this say about contemporary art and its relationship to audiences?
In November we reported that a petition launched by artists was calling for Brighton & Hove City Council to protect artists’ and makers’ workspaces. Having exceeded the 1250 signatures necessary to ensure a full hearing, the campaign’s leader describes the next steps and how artists can make a difference.
In light of funding cuts and the increasing emphasis on the digital sphere, the Director and Curator of the recently launched International New Media Gallery offer a view on the relationship between online and physical space.
Turner Prize bashing is a national sport for some, but, argues a-n’s News Editor, this year’s winner has done a great job of reminding us why it is still important.
The Chief Executive of ARC arts centre in Stockton argues that, as more funding cuts loom and the new, leaner Arts Council England structure takes shape, it’s time for a fundamental change in the relationship between funder and funded.
At the end of October, Arts Council England announced its new structure, in response to a 50% cut in its admin budget from central government. The former Executive Director of ACE North East assesses the shape the organisation is in and expresses some concerns for the future.
What do the recent Frieze Art Fair acquisitions by Tate, funded by philanthropic contemporary art fund Outset, tell us about the art market, the place of artists within it and the influence these organisations wield? A painter and non-Frieze exhibitor writes.
Following a series of events this weekend, New Work Network (NWN) is to close. Director Orlagh Woods discusses NWN’s achievements over its fifteen year history, its closure and the future for artists working within ‘pioneering practices’.
The Digital Aesthetic³ conference in Preston proposed to explore the impact of digital on our lives. For our correspondent, it was the notion of digital failure, rather than success, that proved most intriguing.
As Frieze Art Fair opens this week, a-n’s Director asks if we need to think about how art market growth could aid artists’ careers.
What can a new publication from the National Endowment for the Arts in the USA tell us about how art works?
Is the inaugural CAVE Art Fair a challenge to the commercial gallery system, or an alternative model that can work in tandem with it? One of the artists behind the fair offers her view.
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