Complaints in Wonderland

In the Observer (22nd January 2017  Peter Bazalgett’s  wrote an article “The power of culture – what I learned after four years at the helm of our arts”, this was a plug for his book “The Empathy Instinct”. You can read reviews of the book elsewhere. However for all his talk of “empathy” and the arts, his four years at the Arts Council regrettably highlighted his lack of empathy with underrepresented musics and the continuing problem with the Arts Council and arts funding; a lack of an art form policy that holds the organisation to account for its funding decisions. Before the last funding round in 2015 the Arts Council conducted a comprehensive review of English National Opera resulting in a £5 million cut in its funding from £17 million to £12 million, but ENO was offered an inducement of £7.6 million to help in the transition of its business plan. In 2015 ENO was awarded National Portfolio Status judged against strict criteria, two of which were an effective business plan and sound governance. Shortly after passing these tests ENO was put into “special measures”. The Arts Council after four years of Peter Bazelgett’s leadership and in an age of harsh austerity still funds two opera houses cheek by jowl in London. This demonstrates that the Arts Council is still bounded by the rationality of the past The Royal Opera House has absorbed vast amounts of lottery and revenue funding and is ripe for privatisation. It is time that the Arts Council is replaced with a leaner, innovative organisation that can deliver a policy for the arts that ensures equitable distribution of public funds across regions and art forms.