The Arts Council England has undergone a streamlining process, in order to cut costs. Since July 2013 the internal processes for decision-making have changed. Reports of exactly what these changes are remain vague.
This is my interpretation of the current climate for applying for ACE funding.
Twenty one per cent of staff has been cut to save administration costs. Remaining staff will be soaking up an extra share of existing work. Where possible, offices have been relocated to save rent.
‘Small grants’, which were previously limited to £10,000 or less, have been increased to a maximum of £15,000. Presumably to minimize the cost of administration. However this presents a timely advantage for recipients considering the rising costs of producing work.
The effect of extensive cuts to ACE funding has been pinching since early 2010 and changes to the geography of publicly funded art, are still taking shape.
The key aims of ACE remain the same. Stemming from the critical aim to Achieve Great Art for Everyone. On it’s own, this is a very broad statement. It does in fact a sum up a deep appreciation and will, to bring the best of profound, visionary and ground-breaking work into the public realm.
This demands a knowledge and understanding of the current, yet ever-changing, creative landscape. As well as the movements within art, which have led to this point. Just as a writer cannot remain current, without reading the work of others. Or that a journalist could not hope work in isolation. Art reports from a thinking mind. It stems from an idea. Ideas could not exist without inspiration and cannot grow without nourishment. Thus to succeed in convincing the decision makers at ACE, in the validity of your work, you must have more than just an important idea. You must also deeply understand and be able to express the context of your idea existing here and now. Plus it’s relationship to the wider world. Yet encapsulate that within application guidelines. All of which is pretty challenging!
The fact that the Arts Council remains the UK’s largest and most recognized funding body for artists, means that is also subject to submissions from a huge number of applicants, many of which may have only a limited relationship with the contemporary creative climate.
If there were more funds available, more work could be supported and this would undoubtedly be positive for practitioners, wider society and other artists. Unfortunately there will always be limitations. When these are so extensive and unavoidable, we must all work even harder to overcome them.
ACE acts as gatekeeper for much needed financial support for emerging art. It is a vital resource, which makes difficult decisions about public money. My biggest criticism would be the lack of transparent feedback in plain English.
Unfortunately direct feedback translates into the expense of paid staff hours and sadly a less than vital priority at this time.
It becomes necessary then for applicants to be fluent in Arts Council jargon and to understand the cultural territory that ACE inhabits, in order to successfully communicate your ideas in a way that will meet the requirements and is competitive against a nation of other applicants.
This of course represents a drain on the already limited working hours available to applicants.
It’s my aim that by working at a consultancy level, I can act as a useful and supportive resource and a portal to the right information to aid this process.
This is something I intend to do with Liberty Rocks:
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To shine a light on the most interesting and influential contemporary arts events taking place.
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Demystify the process of fundraising for the arts.
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Mentor and support emerging artists with information, influential connections and critical evaluation.
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To do this I provide management services for individual artists and I act as a mission control hub for collaborating artists.
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I also report and feedback on my experience of the current creative climate, for others to receive and share.
So please, if you are interested in producing your own work or working with others, keep a close eye on the blog. Share and discuss your thoughts and certainly keep me informed of your own work and activities.
