Arts Group

The Guardian has coverage of announcements from Shadow culture secretary Jerermy Hunt indicating what a Conservative victory at the general election could mean for the shape of the Arts. Contrary to claims (last year at the launch of the National Campaign for the Arts Manifesto launch) by Ed Vaizey, Shadow Minister for Culture, it appears our sector may also be subject to cuts in funding in response to dwindling public finances.

The coverage is led by the Tory aspiration to enter into a “Golden Age” for the Arts, through encouraging the emergence of a culture of philanthropy equivalent to our American equivalents. This would seem to set us up for tax-related benefits  as well as other measures recommended by Sir John Tusa’s Arts Task Force in their report (see www.artstaskforce.co.uk ). Whilst undoubtebly a good ideal, this is largely unproven in the UK as a model, and would be a massive step to take from recent year’s reliance of much of the Arts on public subsidy. Whether this would be a phased movement, looking to replace public with private funding is not made clear, though as journalist Polly Toynbee commented at the Bright Blue event in Portcullus House this week – cuts are seldom able to be able to be carried out in the the surgical manner that might be desired to produce the “leaner” organizations Hunt perhaps rightly espouses.

Singled out for criticism by Tory policy is the proportion of state funding that goes on the administration of the Arts grant distributors, with organizations including the Heritage Lottery Fund and Arts Council England spending more than 10% of their income in this way. The Arts Council is restructuring to reduce this, but the premise does call in to question the balance of spending across other similar bodies.

The Conservative policy of returning more lottery funding to the Arts is re-emphasised, as is a committment to championing excellence in the arts (perhaps responding to much of the criticism levelled at public art initiatives’ over-emphasis of diversity and localism over quality of practice).

And last but not least, we are assured that free museum entry “is here to stay under a Conservative government”.

Following a warm reception for the Liberal Democrats, who invited us to input on their own Arts Policy, the Arts Group is continuing to speak to the Shadow DCMS team around issues relating to internships and STEM funding following discussions at the Conservative Conservative Arts and Creative Industries Network and other events with Shadow Arts Minister Ed Vaizey. Watch this space for formal responses!

The Guardian article is here: http://www.guardian.co.uk/culture/2010/jan/1Following a warm reception from the Conservatives, who have invited us to their network events, and the Liberal Democrats, who invited us to input on their own Arts Policy, the Arts Group is continuing to speak to the Shadow DCMS team around issues relating to internships and STEM funding. Watch this space for formal responses!4/arts-funding-cuts-proposed-conservatives

Arts Group Chair, Kit Friend, met with representatives from the Arts Council England, Skillset, Creative & Cultural Skills (CCS) and Skillfast-uk, to discuss progress in the area of graduate internships. With our “Emerging Workers” paper due to launch soon, outlining our proposed direction in this area. We were grateful for the warm reception from these bodies, and look forward to a productive relationship ensuring the broadest possible benefit to those beginning their careers in the Creative Industries, free from exploitation and with an appropriate value attributed to their labour.

It’s gratifying to see extensive coverage at the end of this week, from the Guardian amongst others, concerning the dawning awareness that huge numbers of skilled graduates are being effectively forced into a tier of unpaid work masquerading under the guise of “internships”. Those named and shamed include our own MPs with their interns, and many of the sectors that Arts students will emerge into – those deemed to be most attractive and competitive including journalism and media. The reality is that this problem existed even before the recession, and the creative industries have been allowed to build a reliance on this exploited workforce for far too long. If this push is what’s needed to achieve change it’s welcome, but a longer term culture shift that deals with more than the symptoms brought on the by recession is needed. If the Arts, and indeed the Government, are ever going to be an inclusive and accessible sector, those emerging into work must be paid fairly for their skilled labour. That many are not even receiving National Minimum Wage after years of education and professional development is astonishing, and we should not be afraid to take a strong stance on how wrong this is.

The Arts Group’s Chair, Kit Friend, has been in talks with the Arts Council England and others, and discussions with the DCMS and LSE around the subject are expected soon. The Arts Group’s policy on Emerging Workers will be released here imminently following discussion at our last meeting.

Click here to google “Internships Exploitation” and browse the coverage

Arts Group Chair, Kit Friend, attended the HE Networking Meeting at the Arts Council England (ACE – www.artscouncil.org.uk) to discuss progress to be made around the issues of internships and graduate employment. The draft copy of our Emerging Workers Policy was discussed, and future developments look set to be in the pipeline soon – watch this space!