The current flurry of political rhetoric surrounding arts funding needs to be examined carefully, not least because ideological choices are being justified in terms of economics: affordability, value for money and efficiency. I’ll state the obvious – economic arguments concerning the funding of the arts (on the left and right) express particular political and cultural …
The version of Mark Ravenhill who seems to think that arts organisation marketing departments should be targeted as examples of wasteful spending might want to have a chat with the Mark Ravenhill who wrote the following, 14 months ago: Those of us who started working in the arts during the Thatcherite 1980s were taught that …
Mark Ravenhill’s call for arts cuts by way of firing faceless marketing administrators paints a picture of arts funding that smacks of elitism, with the seemingly easy dismissal of the attempt to reach any audience that isn’t already consuming art. It’s certainly misleading to claim that £10,000 a week (that’s over half a million a …
I tweaked Krishnan Guru Murphy for this tweet: Just did Clegg. Asked him if he saw himself as Jake or Heath in the Brokeback Coalition – he couldn’t remember the detail of the film. I commented: Seriously, @krishgm, you asked Clegg if he was the top or bottom in his relationship with Cameron? Bravo. {slow …