Arts Group Chair, Kit Friend, appeared on the BBC last weekend to defend the rights of interns to proper pay and treatment, highlighting specifically the issues with equality and diversity that the current lack of enforcement encourages.

To see the Arts Group’s recommendations on internships read the Emerging Workers Report here

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!

Photo: Kit Friend, Chair of the Arts Group, Outside No.11 with staff from University of the Arts London’s Innovation Centre, Credit: Robert McColgan

Fresh back (relatively) from Whitehall and it appears the future of the Arts in the UK might not be so grim after all… though Mr Darling himself was absent, the great and the good (and 2 secretaries of state!) turned up on Tuesday morning to discuss the “New Deal of the Mind”, and collection of ideas on how the creative industries can innovate their way out of recession proposed by journalist Martin Bright in the New Statesman.

The guest list was truly stunning, and though there was little conclusive planning of action, funds were tabled by various attendees (and a good deal of thinking on where more money should come from to fund development).

On behalf of the Arts Group, the Chair (Kit Friend) emphasised the relevance of the students of the Arts mobilising to form representation during these tough times, called for an end to the (even pre-recession) exploitation of arts students and graduates as free labour, and for an appreciation of the full breadth of disciplines in the Creative Industries (much of the discussion was concentrated around writing and fine arts). The concept of a national database of case studies to inform workers in the Arts about the value of their work was also introduced, a project currently entering the planning stages as a collaboration between ECCA and SUARTS.

More info on the :New Deal of the Mind” is at www.newdealofthemind.com

Lynne Featherstone MP’s less abridged account of the event is here