The acronym for Arts Council England is rather unfortunate at the moment. The organisation is being accused of many things: being overly close to government, underfunded and blinkered – but nobody thinks it is ace.
Even friendly culture critics are losing patience. As the august arts commentator Richard Morrison recently wrote in the Times: ‘The Arts Council… seems determined to shift public subsidy on to supporting amateurs and community projects.’
‘We are tempted to refuse our ACE grant and not spend so much time box-ticking’
Simple purpose has been replaced by a giant strategy paper, Let’s Create, which seems concerned with how ACE can insist on a policy of social engagement, rather than continue as an agency funding a range of professional arts organisations. Companies that still get cash have by and large accepted this, although not without grumbling. There is widespread resentment that the work must still be delivered alongside copious social requirements and wide-ranging community projects while urgent fiscal concerns, including fuel costs, inflation and a still-nervous general public, remain a clear and present danger.
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