ARTS CUTS: NFASP needs your feedback now!
With proposed cuts of up to 40% in arts funding, NFASP is asking artists' studio groups and organisations to give us your views, so that we can respond on behalf of the sector.
Val Millington, Director of NFASP:
PLEASE GIVE US YOUR VIEWS. Tell us how cuts are affecting you now - or will in the future - so we can respond on behalf of the artists' studios sector.
Please tell us what you think the likely impact of cuts in public expenditure, including Arts Council funding, will be now and in the next few years, on:
a) your group/organisation; and.
b) the artists you support (studio-holders, associates etc)
PLEASE EMAIL YOUR RESPONSES BY 15 SEPTEMBER TO: ask@nfasp.org.uk
Read on for more information on arts cuts, the value of artists' studios and other ways to have your say.
Contact us if you need any further information or wish to discuss anything here. Tel: 020 7426 0067 Email: ask@nfasp.org.uk.
Arts cuts, the value of artists' studios and how to have your say
Visual art is a fantastic British success story. It contributes to tourism, the knowledge economy, and our international standing and it fuels the creative industries.
Galleries, collections, artists’ studios, public art and artists’ public engagment and projects of many kinds have transformed the fabric of local communities over the past fifteen years and more. Affordable artists’ studios are an integral part of this finely balanced ecology.
Although of widely differing scales, structures and ways of working, artists’ studio groups and organisations make a vital contribution to the development and success of the UK’s visual arts through their fundamental support for artists and art.
Last week Jeremy Hunt announced plans to cut 50% of staffing and overheads at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS). This follows announcements already made that the DCMS grant to Arts Council England may be cut by up to 40%. ACE has already notified arts organisations they need to plan cuts of 25% to 40%.
While many artists’ studio groups and organisations do not receive regular funding from Arts Council England, all areas of public expenditure will face reductions, and the impact of such extreme cuts will be far-reaching, not just for studio organisations, but for the many individual artists they support.
Many visual art professionals (including up to 75% of artists) are self-employed with portfolio careers in, for example, education, regeneration, the health service or within the voluntary sector. A 25% cut in two separate areas of public expenditure may quickly amount to a 50% reduction in paid work for a self-employed artist. Recent data indicates the value of employment opportunities for professional artists has already declined by 27% in the past year.
What does this mean for studio groups and organisations?
In her recent article for the Guardian (24 July), Munira Mirza, Director of Arts, Culture and the Creative Industries for the Mayor of London, points out:
“Over the coming months DCMS will have to pass on cuts to the bodies it funds, including Arts Council England, the national museums and galleries and key heritage bodies. If it cuts too much too soon, it will be extremely difficult to maintain the health of the sector. Its choices will not only affect the cultural landscape of London but also the future of the UK.”
There is no place for special pleading for the arts when so many others will experience real hardship. However, we must ensure that the value and place of artists’ studios is respected alongside other visual arts provision.
There are real challenges for studio groups and organisations planning for next year and beyond, and for the artists they support. We need to persuade Government that cuts to the arts should be as small as possible and that any reductions should be managed intelligently over four years to minimise the effect.
What can you do?
• Give us your views on the likely impact of cuts in public expenditure, including Arts Council funding, now and in the next few years, and on the Lottey Shares consultation (see below). Respond to our question above by 15 September. We will write to Jeremy Hunt on behalf of the sector in early September. Remember, every voice counts.
• Influence the Government’s forthcoming Spending Review – the sooner the better. Contact your MP to tell them why the arts matter and how this applies to your group or organisation, update your website with content on this. Respond to the government's Spending Challenge public consultation online. The government has also set up a debate section on the Spending Challenge on Facebook's Democracy UK section.
• For ideas, see Arts Council England’s campaign and its Advocacy Toolkit, a Guide to Working with MP's and a sample press release on the Why the Arts Matter section of the Arts Council England website.
• Give us your views on how we, together with other visual arts agencies, can lobby to support the existence of the many studio groups and organisations and their artists.
What will NFASP do?
NFASP will:
• collate your responses and write to Jeremy Hunt on behalf of the sector in the first week of September
• keep you up-to-date with news on this topic through our website and newsletters, including facts and figures, and successful stories about studios
• continue to work with other visual arts agencies to lobby on behalf of the sector
The Visual Arts UK network, of which NFASP is a member, has written to Jeremy Hunt about the proposed cuts in arts funding. Read the letter here. The letter was signed by 11 visual arts representative/membership/umbrella organisations with a combined constituency of at least 60,000 individuals and organisations.
Facts and figures about the studios sector can be found in NFASP’s briefings. VAGA’s website has a useful round-up of facts and figures about the visual arts.
More info:
To read Jeremy Hunt's defence of his government's commitment to the arts, go to: http://www.guardian.co.uk/culture/2010/jul/31/commitment-to-arts-rock-solid
Date posted: 28th July 2010
