r The Arts Council of Great Britain was formed Mission statemen t in August 1946 to continue in peacetime The aims of the Arts Council of Grea t the work begun with government support by Britai n the Council for the Encouragement of Musi c '.J Or,• _nr '. -fm a!1S lU all and the Arts . The Arts Council operate s under a revised Royal Charter granted i n of al l 1967 in which its objects are stated as: . r - (a)to develop and improve the knowledge, „ Ct~Ir ;Ipl .r iov.ition M lht' ar1 5 understanding and practice of the arts ; 'f'li rI' I rr !lid :'t3gG 71' ?iN .irI n (b)to increase the accessibility of the art s r!s',r:i'!~5 . `,i1r q "~i CT( fllsrrl F, ~J r ICJ to the public throughout Great Britain ; (c) to advise and co-operate with By departments of government, loca l .. ~~-r ;,~1'i f)+.."~i71 (' I(+ rft(':L ~rI15rr ilr( , authorities and other bodies . :U .;!, - I ' ado irv ~sI?JSIC, dull !h1»f wll u - n,•• u1%, The Arts Council, as a publicly accountabl e ; to the quallzy of 1 4 0 body, publishes an annual report and 1 'N ~ - . :35e for Itlc• ar15 d :'cl '.h!Er r accounts to provide Pariiament and th e general public with an overview of the year's _,-• .Ir-s~_ "p. rr'i1 ~Llj.fi)art ;ni? all LeE`rr. r work. 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IN AiSOXA Sf.N MIN 1NE ARTS COUNCIL AND A[NE'N iN ERN MNAL Cortents, l ARTS COUNCIL L10RARY Contents 14 GREAT PEER STREET LONDON SW1p 3NQ TEL 0171-973 651 7 /2 The arts are now well placed on the political agenda t o invigorate the cultural health of the nation, while the Millennium celebrations offer the chance to present ou r abundant artistic talent to the worl d -rat's report/ 4 The Secretary-General looks back at a year of artistic vitalit y and administrative change and calls for a new opennes s throughout the arts funding syste m ,/6 Despite the recession, audiences for the arts have remaine d broadly level /8 Arts Council departments and units highlight the year' s achievement s Atlsh Art - 1. /3 2 'r.s C%)~-,,,, /33 E0 /34 Evelyn Glennie and Gillian Moore share their views on musi c education and the National Curriculum debat e /36 Four artists describe what Arts Council support has helped them to achieve /38 /40 /42 /4 5 Chairman's introduction ed and uncertain time s er thus, hur the .iestniction that are red an anxien- facto r nl that of any othe r _ed ofinstantaneou s Icans that cvcn(S lnoV C ignificancc is oftcl l In Such tithes there is a 'CaSSUranCc, til e rn to abiding 1'31nCS . xiticS of `globa l 7overty and increasin g hroinpt the search for a Ind a sense o f entral to that search , exerlipllf• the highes t 1'Ns'llich the huma n ble, In this iountn , le most .thtlnd .tll t dent in Europc . That is Li fortune . It is also a ,e For %% hick we mus t pollsib1c . That nsihilit~ is fLlllllled hr nost inlaginaiis c loiration possible of narional artistic talen t the common good, d it hehoxcs es'cn. trimpating agency gukernment and th e wig ate sector - - working together in partnership to wir e ncc moment - tiincc hccomin g ( hairman of the arts l .u)U[161 ofOrca t Britain in 1989 I ave constantly asserte d ecessin ofpromotin g i the political agend,l . Mill asset, they descr e I cannot clairn th e ct remains that thre e a Secretary of ' Stat e anent of National Chairman's introduction/ 3 "if we apply the additional resources that flow fro m the National Lottery to capital purposes, it will b e possible to refurbish the Cultural fabric of the nation . " Heritage, giving voice to the needs of fester the practice, understanding an d acting, as hitherto, in isolation . the arts in Cabinet . The arts are plainl y the enjoyment of the arts in Grea t I am an optimist, but my optimis m visible in the Governmcnt 's strategic Britain. is not blind. The certainties that we see k thinking about the shape, feel an d Arts 2000 celebrates a particular art in these troubled times will he mad e quality of our civilised national life . The firm in a nominated city, town or manifest in the excellence of our artistic European Arts Festival marks the Britis h region on an annual basis from now • life. We must not he ambivalent abou t presidency of the EC and the Secretan• until the Millennium. It has begun , our European identity . Association with of State for National Heritage, in hi s triumphantly, with Birmingham as th e our European partners does no t speech at this ycar's Royal Academy City of Music for 1992 . In like manner , eliminate our national identity, as recent Dinner, gave a clarion call to the arts we shall celebrate Dance in the East political events have made only too when he said that administrations ar c Midlands in 1993 ; Drama in Mancheste r plain . The arts, above all, bind u s measured in history not fix thei r in 1994, Literature and Writing i n together. economic achievements, nor tier the Swansea in 1995; and the Visual Arts in While recording the achievement s the Northern Region in 1996 . Arts 2000 of the past year, this report will stress th e battles they win, but for the monuments ti they Icavc behind them as a yardstick of gives character and a renewed sense o f determination to exploit the the health ofa civilised socicry. purpose and civic pride to the city, tow n opportunities that are now on offer . The I can scarcely contain my or region in which the arts are European Arts Festival will illustrat e excitement at the possibilities that al l celebrated. both our talent and our ability to deploy this enthusiasm opens up. The arts wil l At last the Arts Council has its ow n that talent to masin]um effect . Let that be enabled to make their distinctiv e Architecture Unit to promote and raise be a precursor of Millennium festivities mark on late 20th ccntun' Britain , the level of public awareness of this mos t as memorable as the imperial celebratio n shaping the cultural quality of ou r %isible art form at a time when th e of our commercial achievement in 185 1 national life . In facing the daunting building and construction industry i s and as refreshing as that in 1951 afte r economic and political conundra of th e battered and bruised by the recession . the devastation caused by the Secon d world, we have the opportunity to mak e This is just the moment to signa l World War. this counm• truly civilised in concert optimism, waiting upon that time , If we apply the additional resources with our European partners . The arts are however painful and slow the interim , that flow from the National Lottery t o an influence for good whereycr they are for the revival that will surely occur . capital purposes, it will he possible t o fully enjoyed, For they transcen d I have long lilt the need for th e refurbish the cultural fabric of th e divisions of geography, race, colour or Arts Council to draw closer to othe r nation, as well as to commission new religion ; and they hind by speaking a organisations whose terms of reference , buildings to the highest standards and to universal language and by their appeal to at any rate in some respects, arc meet the needs of the day where there i s fundamental values . The Prime Minister complementary to our own and in this I lack of provision . The celebrations t o has indicated that the arts will be th e have enjoyed the support and mark the &Wlennitm will demonstrate beneficiarv of considerable sums o f encouragement of Lord St John of how responsible we are for the talent i n money allocated to them from the ne t Faw-slcv, Chairman of the Royal Fine Art this countrv, and whether we deserve it. proceeds of the National Lottery. I hope Commission . The Architecture emit has If those events arc truly a celebration of very much that this new money will be proNidcd the perfect vehicle for bringin g the arts - as well as illustrations of our allocated to capital projects. The effec t together the Royal Fine Art cultural health - the whole will be an will be little short of seismic, enablin g Commission, the Royal Academy, the expression of what this nation thinks o f the great resource of artistic talent t o Royal Institute of British Architects, the itself, the way in which we present erupt onto centre stage with coruscatin g rlrchitccturr Foundation, Englis h ourselves to the world and our perceived brilliance in pre-millennial Europe .