Independent Review of the Arts Council - do you want to comment?

The Government has commissioned an Independent Review of the Arts Council England (ACE). 

There's an Open Call for Evidence - which means the likes of you and me and/or the organisations we are affiliated to could provide evidence to the Review

We want to hear from anyone who has an interest in or a view about the operation of the Arts Council England and what it delivers. From the users of the art forms ACE funds, through creative practitioners, freelancers, national, local or community based organisations and institutions, all views will be welcomed and taken into consideration.

• These are the Survey Questions.
• YOU can complete your submission online - and are encouraged to do so
• This call for evidence closes at midday on 24 April 2025.

Image by John Hain from Pixabay

Why have a review of Arts Council England?

The objective is summarised in the quotations below. The introductory questions in bold are mine.

Is cultural excellence attuned to a local voices?

The Arts Council England review is an opportunity to examine how to bring cultural excellence to every corner of the country while amplifying local voices in decision-making. 

How to foster creativity?

It will consider how Arts Council England nurtures creativity at all levels - from community arts to international masterpieces - and explore ways to enhance this through stronger dynamic partnerships between national and regional stakeholders. 

Can you have a world class culture which is accessible and has a community focus?

At its heart, this review asks how we can ensure this country has a vibrant, accessible arts ecosystem that truly serves all communities and delivers world-class culture at every level.

This last one is the nitty gritty of what makes this review difficult. How do you achieve excellence at a national level is you also need to make sure you are delivering for local people.

What is ACE?

The Arts Council and Future Funding

On Tuesday, The Arts Council went to Leicester to:

• announce its funding decisions for the National Portfolio organisations in relation to Arts and Culture in England for 2018-22
• changed its strategy for what it funds in future

This post covers videos explaining how it all works and references links to further and more detailed explanations on the Arts Council website

The Arts Council Funding Ecology 2018-22

The National Portfolio

This video was livestreamed about the announcement for how the National Portfolio works going forward in the next four years. It lasts 46 minutes.

There are 183 newcomers within the National Portfolio and the Arts Council intends to invest £170 million (4.6%) MORE outside London.

This fulfils the promises to

• spend more outside London
• reach places which hitherto have received very little funding from the Arts Council
• bring museums and libraries into the portfolio
• fund more diverse arts organisations

Get Funding

The Arts Council website explains:

• how to Get Funding.
• National Portfolio funding decisions - namely
• key facts and figures
• The full National Portfolio dataset
• Grants for the Arts 
• awards from £1,000 to £100,000 to support a wide variety of arts-related activities
• for individuals, art organisations and other people who use the arts in their work
• Grantium - the new portal for applying for grants

Plus there's a video which explains how the Grants for Arts application portal and process works

Cultural development post election - the promises and who decides who gets what

The Art Newspaper seems to think that the outcome of the UK election could trigger a cultural bonanza based on the notion that

Both the major political parties make big promises about new money for the arts

When I started reading the article it occurred to me maybe there was another perspective based on timelines that it may have missed and the sort of lobbying that goes on behind the scenes in terms of what gets into any political party's manifesto.

First here are the promises - it's worth making a record of what they aim to do. I've abbreviated and bullet pointed where appropriate.

Then I reflect on how it might all work - and who might decide who gets what.

If there is a Conservative Government

This is what the Conservative Manifesto says - albeit I had to find most of this by plugging in words to the find command while viewing the pdf file. It's not very accessible!

Prosperous towns and cities across Britain - page

Our towns and cities excel when they have vibrant cultural life. Britain’s arts and culture are world-beating and are at the heart of the regeneration of much of modern Britain. 

We will 

• continue our strong support for the arts, and ensure more of that support is based outside London.
• maintain free entry to the permanent collections of our major national museums and galleries. 
• introduce a new cultural development fund to use cultural investment to turn around communities. 
• hold a Great Exhibition of the North in 2018, to celebrate amazing achievements in innovation, the arts and engineering. 
• support a UK city in making a bid to host the 2022 Commonwealth Games. 
• in this 70th Anniversary Year of the Edinburgh Festival we will support the development of the new Edinburgh Concert Hall, reaffirming Edinburgh as the UK’s leading festival city and a cultural beacon around the globe.

A Knowledge Rich Curriculum - page 50-51

We will 

• ensure all children have access to an academic, knowledge-rich curriculum. 
• introduce a curriculum fund to encourage Britain’s leading cultural and scientific institutions, like the British Museum and others to help develop knowledge-rich materials for our schools, 

Shared institutions of Union - page 34-45

For too long, power in Britain has been centred in London. This means opportunity has centred in London too. It is time major cities around Britain shared in the government of the United Kingdom. 

We will 

• proceed on the same basis with the arts and cultural organisations that give our United Kingdom such strength. 
• Channel 4 will remain publicly owned and will be relocated out of London
• work with the nation’s most eminent museums and galleries to ensure their works and expertise are shared across the country

If there is a Labour Government

Labour have a LOT more to say about Culture and the arts