Arts Council England is an arm's length non-departmental public body of the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. It is also a registered charity. It was formed in 1994 when the

Arts Council of Great Britain The Arts Council of Great Britain was a non-departmental public body dedicated to the promotion of the fine arts in Great Britain. It was divided in 1994 to form the Arts Council of England (now Arts Council England), the Scottish Arts Council (l ...

was divided into three separate bodies for

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

, Scotland and Wales. The

arts funding Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows on another. In the history of art, arts patronage refers to the support that kings, popes, and the wealthy have provided to artists su ...

system in England underwent considerable reorganisation in 2002 when all of the regional arts boards were subsumed into Arts Council England and became regional offices of the national organisation. Arts Council England is a government-funded body dedicated to promoting the performing, visual and literary arts in

. Since 1994, Arts Council England has been responsible for distributing lottery funding. This investment has helped to transform the building stock of arts organisations and to create much additional high-quality arts activity. On 1 October 2011 the

Museums, Libraries and Archives Council The Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA) was until May 2012 a non-departmental public body and registered charity in England with a remit to promote improvement and innovation in the area of museums, libraries and archives. Its functi ...

was subsumed into the Arts Council in England and they assumed the responsibilities of the council.

History

The

was created in 1946 by Royal Charter on the initiative of John Maynard Keynes. It received a revised charter in 1967. On 1 April 1994, it was divided to form the Arts Council of England, the Scottish Arts Council, and the

Arts Council of Wales The Arts Council of Wales (ACW; cy, Cyngor Celfyddydau Cymru) is a Welsh Government-sponsored body, responsible for funding and developing the arts in Wales. Established within the Arts Council of Great Britain in 1946, as the Welsh Arts ...

, each with their own new Royal Charter; the Arts Council of Northern Ireland already existed as a distinct body. At the same time, the National Lottery was established and the Arts Council of England became one of the distribution bodies. This increased responsibility saw the Arts Council of England grow back in size to the point where it was larger than before the 1987 restructuring. In 2001 Chairman Gerry Robinson announced a further restructuring in which the Arts Council of England would be merged with the ten regional arts boards to form a single organisation: Arts Council England.

Lets Create

In 2020, Arts Council England published 'Lets Create', a new 10-year Strategy for the sectors within its remit. 'Let's Create' includes a new vision statement, designed to inform Arts Council England's work and priorities to 2030: "By 2030, we want England to be a country in which the creativity of each of us is valued and given the chance to flourish, and where every one of us has access to a remarkable range of high-quality cultural experiences." The Strategy is structured around three outcomes: * Creative People * Cultural Communities * A Creative and Cultural Country Arts Council England has also set out 4 'investment principles': * Ambition and quality * Dynamism * Environmental responsibility * Inclusivity and relevance

Governance and administration

Arts Council England has a national council of 15 members, including the chair. The national council meets ten times a year and is made up of representatives of the arts community with five of the members also representing the area councils. Each area council has a board of 15 members made up of representatives of their arts community and local government. There are five area councils: * North * Midlands * London * South East * South West The Chief Executive of the Arts Council England is appointed by the Department of Culture, Media and Sport. Alan Davey was Chief Executive from 2008 to 2014. He was succeeded by Darren Henley. Each area council has an

Executive Director Executive director is commonly the title of the chief executive officer of a non-profit organization, government agency or international organization. The title is widely used in North American and European not-for-profit organizations, thoug ...

and each art form has a specialist advisor. The Arts Council England divides its funding into the following headings: * Combined Art (Festivals) * Dance * Education * Literature * Music * Research * Theatre * Touring * Visual Arts

Chairs of Arts Council England

* Grey Gowrie (foundation–1998), 2nd Earl of Gowrie, former Arts Minister, poet and art dealer * Sir Gerrard Robinson (1998–2004), businessman and executive * Sir

Christopher Frayling Sir Christopher John Frayling (born 25 December 1946) is a British educationalist and writer, known for his study of popular culture. Early life and education Christopher Frayling was born in Hampton, a suburb of London, in affluent circumstance ...

:(2004–February 2009); Rector of the Royal College of Art (London) * Dame Elizabeth Forgan (2009–2013); broadcaster and journalist * Sir Peter Bazalgette (2013–2016); Executive Chairman of ITV plc * Sir Nicholas Serota (2017–); former Director of the Tate

Executive officers

* Mary Allen: Secretary General, 1994 –1997 *Peter Hewitt: Chief Executive, 1997–2008 * Alan Davey: Chief Executive, 2008–2014 * Darren Henley Chief Executive, 2014 to present

Funding programmes

Arts Council England is a distributor of a core funding programme, complemented by National Lottery funding.

Culture Recovery Fund

In 2020 it administered the Culture Recovery Fund to arts venues and organisations in England affected by the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identified ...

Former funding programmes

Arts Capital Lottery

From 1994 it oversaw a national capital fund with grants for new buildings, public art and the renovation of existing arts buildings. The story of the Capital programme is told by Prue Skene who chaired the Lottery Panel, in ''Capital Gains: how the national lottery transformed England's arts''.

Sampad Arts

Arts Council England utilises public funding to support Sampad Arts, a

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the We ...

-based agency that produces dance, music and theatre productions, and provides professional development for young artists, in association with mac (formerly the Midlands Arts Centre).

Museums

Arts Council England supports a limited number of museums as Major Partnership Museums: 16 single museums or consortia were supported 2012–2015, and a further five were added for 2015–2018, bringing the total to 21. Arts Council England also supports other museums via "Strategic Funds."

Criticism

The Council attracted criticism from the Parliamentary select committee responsible for its oversight for supporting a lottery-funded programme to subsidise UK film production that resulted in a series of films that failed to find distribution. There was also a series of costly capital projects such as the Royal Opera House and the

Lowry Centre The Lowry is a theatre and gallery complex at Salford Quays, Salford, Greater Manchester, England. It is named after the early 20th-century painter L. S. Lowry, known for his paintings of industrial scenes in North West England. The complex op ...

that required additional funding. In the case of the Royal Opera House the select committee found the Arts Council had broken its own procedures. In 2005 it was announced that the Arts Council England's budget was capped resulting in an effective £30m reduction in its budget. The Arts Council of England funds a controversial cultural festival, the

Festival of Muslim Cultures The Festival of Muslim Cultures, a national celebration of Muslim cultures held in the United Kingdom, began in January 2006 and ended July 2007. It imitated an earlier event in 1976. From official site; ''The festival was created out of the ne ...

. In March 2006, the Arts Council announced a review of its National Office that would "enhance efficiency and delivery while continuing to provide respected and focused arts leadership and drive", while proposing to lose 42 posts, mainly arts specialists, so that the organisation will no longer have dedicated national leads for areas including contemporary music, interdisciplinary art, moving image, architecture, broadcasting, opera, social inclusion, and disability. Arts Council England's music policy was controversial within the

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a majo ...

world. Chris Hodgkins, in his 1998 paper ''Jazz in the UK'', pointed out that more than 90% of its music budget went on

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libre ...

while jazz, with an equivalent audience size, received less than 1%. The funding landscape has improved since with funding for NWJazzworks and

Manchester Jazz Festival {{Use dmy dates, date=April 2022 Manchester Jazz Festival is an annual 9-day-long festival focused on showcasing contemporary jazz from the North West of England and beyond. mjf 2017 The 2017 Manchester Jazz Festival took place from 28 July to 6 ...

2012. Among other areas funding has diversified into youth music such as

National Youth Choirs of Great Britain The National Youth Choirs of Great Britain (NYCGB) is the family of choirs for outstanding young singers, and those with outstanding potential, in the United Kingdom. It comprises a total of five choirs for around 750 young people between the ages ...

, National Youth Jazz Collective and South Asian Music Youth Orchestra (SAMYO) etc. On 11 May 2006 it was raised in the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster ...

Lord Colwyn Baron Colwyn, of Colwyn Bay in the County of Denbigh, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1917 for the businessman Sir Frederick Smith, 1st Baronet. He had already been created a Baronet in 1912. the titles are h ...

, as documented in the Lords

Hansard ''Hansard'' is the traditional name of the transcripts of parliamentary debates in Britain and many Commonwealth countries. It is named after Thomas Curson Hansard (1776–1833), a London printer and publisher, who was the first official printe ...

Columns (1058 to 1060). In May 2015, the right wing Board of Deputies of British Jews, released a statement objecting to Arts Council England's funding of '' The Siege''. The Palestinian play depicts a 2002 incident where armed

Hamas Hamas (, ; , ; an acronym of , "Islamic Resistance Movement") is a Palestinian Sunni-Islamic fundamentalist, militant, and nationalist organization. It has a social service wing, Dawah, and a military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Bri ...

fighters sought refuge in

Church of the Nativity The Church of the Nativity, or Basilica of the Nativity,; ar, كَنِيسَةُ ٱلْمَهْد; el, Βασιλική της Γεννήσεως; hy, Սուրբ Ծննդեան տաճար; la, Basilica Nativitatis is a basilica located in B ...

in Bethlehem. A 39-day siege ensued, and eight of the Hamas troops were killed by Israeli snipers, before the remaining forces surrendered. The English Touring Opera attributed its firing of white musicians in 2021 to "firm guidance" from the Arts Council.

References

External links

Arts Council England consultation websiteArts Council EnglandArtists taking the leadArts energyArts jobsOwn artTake it away
{{DEFAULTSORT:Arts Council England Arts councils of the United Kingdom Bloomsbury Performing arts in England English art Arts organisations based in England Organisations based in England with royal patronage Organisations based in the London Borough of Camden Non-departmental public bodies of the United Kingdom government Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport 1994 establishments in England Governance of England Government agencies established in 1994 Funding bodies of England Arts organizations established in 1994