Roger Tomlinson says Arts Council England has failed to address the symptoms of market failure in the arts and now only radical change will lead to more equitable funding distribution.
You are the Arts Council and from 1946 to the present day, the results of your funding decisions show that you give the majority of your funding to arts organisations in London.
Unfortunately your stated policy from 1965 to 2010 has been to distribute the funding equitably to develop the arts across England, summed up in 2010 as Achieving Great Art for Everyone. Recognising that you have not been succeeding, there have been major strategic initiatives in the past such as The Glory of the Garden in 1984, intended to address the inequitable distribution, followed on by the Wilding report in 1989 which confirmed further the under-funding in/to the English regions. In 1995 comes potential relief in the form of Lottery funding, at first to be spent on capital projects, later also on revenue. A chance to address the imbalances? (Click here to read more)
You are the Arts Council and from 1946 to the present day, the results of your funding decisions show that you give the majority of your funding to arts organisations in London.
Unfortunately your stated policy from 1965 to 2010 has been to distribute the funding equitably to develop the arts across England, summed up in 2010 as Achieving Great Art for Everyone. Recognising that you have not been succeeding, there have been major strategic initiatives in the past such as The Glory of the Garden in 1984, intended to address the inequitable distribution, followed on by the Wilding report in 1989 which confirmed further the under-funding in/to the English regions. In 1995 comes potential relief in the form of Lottery funding, at first to be spent on capital projects, later also on revenue. A chance to address the imbalances? (Click here to read more)