The Arts Council of England Annual Report 1998.Pdf
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f 98 z%fln ad G° SPOT Contents 2 Chairman's introduction 4 Chief Executive's report 6 Milestones in the year 8 Lord Cowrie's review 10 Financial summary, performance indicators , spending by region 17 Departmental reviews 36 Arts Council Collectio n 38 Whats more. 40 National Lottery overview 43 The Council 46 Advisory panels 48 Regional Arts Boards 49 The Accounts 106 New Council members 107 Further information The Arts Council of Englan d annual report and accounts 1998 The Arts Council of England is a successor body to the Arts Council of Great Britain (ACGB), which wa s established in 1946. On 1 April 1994, the ACGB's responsibilities and functions were transferred to thre e new bodies : The Arts Council of England, The Scottis h Arts Council and The Arts Council of Wales . (The Arts Council of Northern Ireland was already established a s a separate body. ) The Arts Council of England operates under a Roya l Charter granted in 1994 and its objectives are : • to develop and improve the knowledge, understandin g and practice of the art s • to increase the accessibility of the arts to the publi c • to advise and co-operate with departments o f government, local authorities, the Arts Councils for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland and other bodies . The Arts Council of England, as a publicly accountabl e body, publishes an annual report and accounts to provid e Parliament and the general public with an overview of th e year's work. m hr.? - I Chairman ' s introduction -1 L~ AL . t - PA 04 THE ARTS NEVER STAND STILL. Nor does the society in which the}, take shape. In the past few years the arrival of Lottery funds an d a new government have produced a different climat e and new opportunities . The Arts Council could no t have chosen a better time to take stock and make a The arts have not received adequate public ftuldin g fresh start. over recent years . The Government went a long wa y to putting that right in the summer of 1998 . With Radical change, like much good art, is bound t o those extra revenues we want to start things, to make please some and discomfit others . But everything we things happen that would otherwise not happen . But do is underpinned by a passion for the arts - and a we don't want to create dependencies : a leg-up from set of beliefs that everyone who loves the arts mus t the Arts Council will not mean a free ride for life . surely share. Good management is not the enemy of good art ; The Arts Council believes that the arts enrich our nor is popularity a sign of bad art . On the contrary, lives in a variety of ways . They express what cannot growing audiences and financial viability should be be communicated by any other means . They enable recognised as important goals for arts companies an d us to explore our deepest feelings and values, our indicators of their success . The Arts Council will individual and shared identities . They have enormou s foster success and reward it ; encourage companie s educational importance - and economic value, too , that show promise ; and help those whose long-term as one of the nation's largest and most successful viability is in the balance. But we will never have industries. They promote the health and well-being enough money to spare for those that cannot hel p of our comnninities and our society as a whole . 0 themselves. 0 The arts sever stand still o Nor does the society in which they take shape . The new Arts Council of England intends to be a Radical change is not comfortable . The Counci l national, policy-led authority speaking on behalf o f recognises the impact that our restructuring an d the arts, leading the arts constituency, engaging wit h redefinition of roles is having on peopl e's workloads the Government and other bodies on issues tha t and, in some cases, job prospects . We are gratefu l affect the arts, and instigating national initiatives . to them for maintaining the continuing innovatio n and progress which constitute `business as usual' i n I emphasise the word `national' . We want decision s the arts. We intend to complete the transition as about arts policy and funding to be made as close quickly as possible and to provide a clear idea o f to the point of impact as possible . That means more where the future lies - for people in our funded arts delegation to Regional Arts Boards and to our ow n organisations as well as in the Arts Council itself. excellent staff. The Arts Council of England will focus on being the champion of the arts as a whole, One thing is already clear. The Arts Council has once in the country as a whole . Within the slimmed-down again demonstrated its ability to reinvent itself an d Council itself there is no room for special pleadin g its willingness to adapt to changing circumstances . or fiefdoms . These are characteristics which the arts, and artists , have always had in abundance - they're what kee p the arts alive and artists fed . In the Arts Council the y will enable us to move forward confidently on ou r exciting, challenging and vitally important mission : to develop, sustain and promote the arts in England . 2 3 Gerry Robinson Chairma n a Arts Council of England September 1998 C 0 V e Audience development is key to any organisation' s long-term viability. We are encouraging efforts to DURING THE YEAR, the Arts Council began a reach ncNv audiences through touring, schemes to fundamental programme of change which wil l introduce young people to the arts, and promotiona l resonate throughout the arts in England . Change initiatives such as concessions and vouchers . These was essential, and was stimulated by : efforts have been boosted by an extra £5nl from th e • Five years of grant-in-aid cuts and standstills Government for the New Audiences programme , • An imbalance caused (until recently) by revenu e announced in March 1998 . famine and capital feas t • New government policies inviting support fo r Revenue funding: To ensure the sustainability o f young people, the voluntary sector and the the cultural sector as a whole, we want to give arts creative industrie s organisations longer timcscales over which they can • New legislation allowing devolution of Lottery plan. At the same time, we will review the patter n funding and encouraging a more proactive rol e of distribution more rigorously : there should be no in stimulating arts activities automatic funding for life . Increasingly we will fund • The need to re-establish the Arts Council as a organisations for contractually-fixed periods - modern institution exercising national leadershi p typically three to five years. Before each period on behalf of all the arts in all of England . expires we will thoroughly assess their performance and decide whether to renew funding or to releas e In our new Chairman's words, the Arts Council i s the resources for other, emerging organisations and reinventing itself. What does this mean, in practice? 0 activities. 0 The Arts Council began a fundamental programme of change, which will resonate throughout the arts in England . The Council Capital fiasading: Over the past few years we have Ill June 1998 a new, smaller Council was announced . committed a great deal of Lottery money to capital Its 11 members bring together expertise in all th e projects. These awards have funded many flagship artfornls, without directly representing or answerin g arts developments ; they have also created high to any individual artform or region . expectations throughout the arts world . However, the reduction in our share of Lottery money and ou r The Arts Council has much to do over the next desire to achieve a greater balance between fieldin g few months and years ; its streamlined structure wil l activities and buildings means that we will not be abl e enable it to make speedier decisions . Many of the to meet all demands in the future . decisions previously taken in Council will in future be taken closer to where their impact will be felt, by To help us manage our commitments and cash floxv s people with local knowledge and specialist expertis e to best effect, we are considering a new approach to - particularly by Regional Arts Boards and Art s capital funding. This invites everyone involved in the Council directors working with advisory panels. arts - arts organisations, local authorities, othe r partners in capital development - to take a long-ter m Funding policy view. The country's roads, hospitals and schools ar e Integration: For accountability reasons we mus t planned as part of a long-term investment programme . maintain the distinction between our Treasur y The arts should be no different . We will seek to and Lottery revenue streams ; but for operationa l deliver a carefiilly considered strategy for capital efficiency we will now plan and administer th e assistance . distribution of fiends in an increasingly integrated way. However, \ve remain convinced that Lottery The Regional Arts Board s fielding should never replace core national and loca l From April 1999 we will further increase th e government money for the arts . delegation of funding decisions to the RABs , focusing our own attention on overall policy, th e Sustaiuability: The long-term health of the arts and fielding of organisations which arc truly national , arts organisations is our main objective . Organisations and other arts initiatives of national significance .