Joe Lycett calls for end to ‘red tape’ within arts

The government should create a streamlined route for culture and heritage funding that eliminates "red tape" to save "hundreds of thousands of pounds per year" in administration costs, according to comedian and artist Joe Lycett.

Lycett, who launched a "manifesto" for the sector at the Sky Arts awards, which he hosted on Tuesday (17 September), said that subsidy control regulations introduced in 2022 to replace previous EU rules had created a "needless administrative burden" on public funders. 

The series of recommendations directed to Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy, created in collaboration with artists and cultural organisations, is centred on actions that are cost-neutral and follows a publicity campaign that Lycett anonymously coordinated under the guise of anti-arts activism group Stop the Arts.

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The manifesto calls for DCMS to have a plan for creative diversity that is published and reviewed annually, with associated performance indicators.

It also urges Labour to follow through on their pre-election promises to "break down barriers" for artists touring to the EU, impose new regulations on ticket resale companies and strengthen consumer rights around inflated prices.

Labour's pledge to reform business rates, Lycett warns, is needed to help alleviate financial pressures on arts venues while also acknowledging that the charges are a "crucial" source of funding for local authorities, which are collectively the biggest funder of the arts and culture in the UK.

To help struggling music venues, Lycett says that when a new property development is built near an existing music venue, there should be a statutory right of consultation, adding that Agent of Change guidance, which puts the burden of soundproofing on developers, should be incorporated into legislation.

In education, Lycett advises that at Progress 8 at least one subject should be mandated to be in the arts.

He also calls for clearly defined guidance "as a matter of urgency" on what standards or regulations AI companies must adhere to regarding the copyright of creative content.

Defund the arts

Lycett's campaign was unveiled after he coordinated a series of fake protests by a masked group claiming to oppose the arts.

The group had been campaigning since mid-August to “defund the arts”, staging action at venues including Birmingham Hippodrome and Ikon Gallery.

On 30 August, they hung banners outside Shakspere's Globe while masked protesters chanted "stop the arts" and displayed placards bearing slogans including ‘s** off Shakespeare’, ‘enuff with the ruff’, 'the Lady does not protest enough', and 'Shakespeare is so 1616'.  

Within the sector, some took to social media to express concern over the protests. However, others suspected it was a stunt, and Lycett, known for his elaborate and creative hoaxes, was quickly pegged as the orchestrator. “I would put good money on this having something to do with Joe Lycett,” said TV writer Natalie Mirosch.

Unmasking himself on Instagram earlier this month, Lycett said, "Yes, it's me, Joe Lycett; who would have thought it, except literally everybody? So does this mean that Stop the Arts isn't real? Of course, it's not real.

"Who needs a protest group going around stopping the arts when successive governments have been doing everything they can to bring arts to a standstill."