tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4481691725314537521.post1275011033661209308..comments2023-09-20T14:34:21.102+02:00Comments on Postcards from the Gods: NSDF funding cutAndrew Haydonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05568061302451610140noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4481691725314537521.post-50129464328132421122007-12-21T18:40:00.000+01:002007-12-21T18:40:00.000+01:00I still believe that they are. I can't credit tha...I still believe that they are. I can't credit that at the most central point there has not been at least some joined-up thinking in this regard. For there not to have been would be an act of monumental stupidity and ignorance even by the remarkable standards of the last 30 years of government.Ian Shuttleworthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11380337075876291291noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4481691725314537521.post-73586124457646500942007-12-21T14:00:00.000+01:002007-12-21T14:00:00.000+01:00It was not just Johann Andrew. I thought thet two ...It was not just Johann Andrew. I thought thet two were related until you pointed it out - as I am sure do many people.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4481691725314537521.post-26061809202119012432007-12-21T10:28:00.000+01:002007-12-21T10:28:00.000+01:00That's probably fairer. My original knee-jerk not...That's probably fairer. My original knee-jerk nothing-to-do-with-Olympics stance was basically informed by Johann Hari's cack-handed bundling of the Grants for the Arts 35% cut up with this round of retrenching. It is important to keep the two separate, as they are different issues. <BR/><BR/>But, yes, obviously the Olympics have an impact. The most interesting analysis concerning the thinking behind the cuts, suggested there was a move toward emphasising street arts and circus skill-type outfits, *precisely because* of their ready applicability to the overall arts scene surrounding the Olympics - while the Bush, frinstance, really isn't.Andrew Haydonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05568061302451610140noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4481691725314537521.post-34977588682850997012007-12-20T10:28:00.000+01:002007-12-20T10:28:00.000+01:00"This is absolutely nothing to do with the Olympic..."This is absolutely nothing to do with the Olympics" - it's simply impossible to say that. The Olympic budget is equivalent to several years' worth of entire arts/culture/media spending, and it's coming from somewhere; although the Arts Council may not have seen its own purse raided AS SUCH, it's left to try to fill in the vast gaps left by the depredations worked on other state-administered funds for the Olympics. It's also impossible to believe that these funding decisions will not have been taken with at least half an eye to the kind of cultural landscape that will be presented to the world as part of the Olympiad.Ian Shuttleworthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11380337075876291291noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4481691725314537521.post-55102966245250762052007-12-18T01:32:00.000+01:002007-12-18T01:32:00.000+01:00This is absolutely nothing to do with the Olympics...This is absolutely nothing to do with the Olympics. Expect a blog post tomorrow addressing this central misconception.Andrew Haydonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05568061302451610140noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4481691725314537521.post-1748077459053019972007-12-17T23:00:00.000+01:002007-12-17T23:00:00.000+01:00I fear this is only the first in a series of "rest...I fear this is only the first in a series of "restructurings" of government funding to the arts in the run up to the Olympics. Note that the majority of the increases in these proposals are to London and the South-East, and the largest increases go to the largest clients - the chattering classes are being kept sweet. <BR/><BR/>The Department of Culture, Media and Sport is responsible for the whole shooting match, and as the real cost of the Olympics spirals slowly upwards, I doubt the Treasury will be sympathetic to ever-increasing disbursements. Arts Council England is cutting the dead wood - and remember that the Arts Council itself was under heavy fire last year from an ex-Arts Minister (David Lammy - he didn't last long).<BR/><BR/>Cassandra says the landscape of English arts is going to look pretty barren come 2012. And do you think that funding will be restored in 2013?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4481691725314537521.post-82733289201675039602007-12-16T20:41:00.000+01:002007-12-16T20:41:00.000+01:00Andrew, The Bush has been threatened by the Arts C...Andrew, The Bush has been threatened by the Arts Council with a 40% cut. WTF is going on? Could this be a wildly exagerated opening gambit to make us happy with a less violent set of retrenchments?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4481691725314537521.post-80963334948884676022007-12-16T19:12:00.000+01:002007-12-16T19:12:00.000+01:00This is madness - the NSDF can't cease to exist! W...This is madness - the NSDF can't cease to exist! Will blog about this myself, and sign the petition.Salhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07368081765909177507noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4481691725314537521.post-87689157463252341302007-12-14T20:53:00.000+01:002007-12-14T20:53:00.000+01:00Would I be wrong in suspecting this decision is li...Would I be wrong in suspecting this decision is likely down to internal finances/politics? Is there an unhappiness that the Arts Council *Yorkshire* budget is funding the *National* Student Drama Festival? So often it's petty disputes and game playing such as this that end up damaging those in the front line.<BR/><BR/>Good luck with the campaign.Statlerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05983866226623322962noreply@blogger.com