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London jocks kick budget cuts in the face of arty types. Discuss (at the Arts Council site)…

Having forgotten to include tax in its budgets for the London Olympic Games, the UK Government is happy to let sports leech in money from other areas, like arts funding apparently.

A case of the PE Brigade running amok? ;-)

It’s not the purpose of this blog to debate who gets public money – but I did take an interest in the Arts Council‘s public debating chamber Arts Debate as an exercise in communication and consultation.

The website  announces:

We have identified five key questions that we believe should be the subject of a national debate. You can debate these questions below. We will analyse all the comments and include them in the overall arts debate findings.

The five questions they have opened up for debate are:

  1. What do you value about the arts?
  2. What principles should guide public funding of the arts today?
  3. What are the responsibilities of a publicly funded arts organisation?
  4. When should an artist receive public money?
  5. Should members of the public be involved in arts funding decisions?

The website will close on May 11th, which seems a shame. Perhaps all public bodies should have a live page where their activities are debated in the open, not by select committees, ombudsmen and national newspaper columnists, but by the people who pay for and use their services (or don’t). 

And, maybe the questions that are debated should be set by the people who use the site as well?

Great initiative, though – hurrah for the Arts Council…

Via the brilliant bigshinything…

 

Antony Mayfield

7 responses to “London jocks kick budget cuts in the face of arty types. Discuss (at the Arts Council site)…”

  1. David Brain Avatar
    David Brain

    I thought this quote from the bigshinything post you linked to was interesting: “If, like us, you were always the last to picked for the team at school or if you simply believe that the arts matter then Get Involved”. You don’t have to be crap at sport or dislike those who like it to like art. And vice versa. And if this debate degenerates into sports fans versus arts fans, there is no contest as to who will win. The Arts Council is right to fight for the Arts of course, but if it and you invoke a true democratic process for this, I fear the result will not be what you want or seem to expect.

  2. Antony Mayfield Avatar
    Antony Mayfield

    Depends what you mean by democracy: not always reducing things to the will of the majority on each issue is part of a good working democracy.

  3. David Brain Avatar
    David Brain

    Aha. So who gets to decide who votes? You and me and our luvvie friends with degrees in the humanity subjects? Or the people who actually bought the lottery tickets? Cause my guess is they will vote sport. Check out the question 5 you and your friends pose: “Should members of the public be involved in arts funding decisions”? Public. Are you deciding who makes up the public? Some pigs are more equal than others? Reducing things? Who are you to decide who’s view “reduces things” Anthony?

  4. Antony Mayfield Avatar
    Antony Mayfield

    I think that you’re absolutely right that the language of the “public” question speaks of elitism and exclusivity. But it is also the common language of politics and media and business today – I’ll forgive them that on the basis that they are at least asking the questions in public.

    Beyond that there’s a few issues to unpick there.

    * Who am I? Someone having their say in public on a public issue.

    * Do I think every issue should be put to a public vote?: no. Single issue votes are an unwieldy way of deciding things – should a more deliberative democracy (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deliberative_democracy) approach be applied to decision making around lottery and arts spending be applied I think the arts would not necessarily be overlooked.

    * Should public arts money be raised via lottery money?: Possibly not.

    * Who should decide on spending matters around the arts?: Well, I think that the public, or the government should be involved in setting the principles and then delegate that decision making to an accountable third party. Like the Arts Council.

    * Am I a luvvie and/or friends with the Arts Council?: I am a trustee on the Brighton Photography Biennial but I’m pretty sure that I was selected as a non-luvvie to bring a commercial/practical perspective to things. So I’m interested in the arts, but can’t claim many friends in arts circles (Who has time? These blogs don’t write themselves!)

    And how do you think this would be best run, David? I hope you’re posting your views to the debate space.

  5. David Brain Avatar
    David Brain

    Don’t get me wrong Anthony, I don’t want the arts underfunded and I said “us” luvies and it was meant more in jest. I am a literature major and a lover of our art galleries and theatre land. I just feel that in some of this debate we are setting up an Arts versus Sport thing which tends to bring the worst out on both sides. I haven’t been posting to the debate space though. Will do when i get a moment.

  6. Jo Saucek (Online Editor, arts debate) Avatar
    Jo Saucek (Online Editor, arts debate)

    It’s great to see this debate taking place. I hope you’ll all have your say on the arts debate site as well.
    Anthony, we’re certainly very keen that we debate the questions that are important to the public. Whilst the arts debate has used specific research to reach the five key questions we ask, we are open to hosting discussions of other important topics as well. Please do let me know if you have specific ideas.
    We’ve been really encouraged with the way the arts debate website has enabled us to communicate so directly, and we’re hoping to carry on with this format and other similar ideas beyond the debate, as you suggest.
    Thanks for taking part. Jo Saucek (Online Editor, arts debate)

  7. Antony Mayfield Avatar
    Antony Mayfield

    No, I do understand, David – honest. Although I’m seriously considering re-positioning myself as a luvvie… :-)

    Jo – thanks for stopping by. I’ll be watching the development of the project with real interest: both for the substance of the debate and how it works for you as a communications space.

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