Hi Chris
Thanks for that -- I've written a short, hurried piece in this issue of
Variant, 19 on the vageries (for us!) of what's going on with this
projected singular Cultural Agency (aka 'Ministry of Motivation', MoM),
believed to be in place by 2007. Though this has been in the pipeline
for some time, such as Comedia's 1989 document 'Saturday Night or Sunday Morning?'.
I think the problem is we're no further informed about what a model of
delivery will be, what & who this Agency will constitute, and what this
will actually mean to the forms of cultural practice that will find it
increasingly difficult to find support if they are perceived not to
"demonstrate tangible social gain in relation to the Executive's wider
public policy framework."
Clearly there are problems with the SAC's supposed disinterested
gatekeeping of what constitutes Culture (issues around class, race,
gender, age, sexuality, etc. have all been thoroughly investigated
elsewhere). But the removal of an arms length relationship with the
Executive ('arms length' at least in principle) brings up legitimate
questions of what is expected to be a centralisation of power and a
tightening of the Executive's grip on state funded agencies and those
reliant on them.
What we need is to organise an independent public platform to discuss
the issues of 'the arms length principle', who constitutes a supposed
disinterested Arts Council if it is to be retained in some (civil
service) form, and the more clearly overt politicisation of what
constitutes culture in explicitly aligning it to the political policies
of new Labour.
I'd be really intersted to hear from anyone out there who is willing to
put their head above the parapet to openly discuss these issues in
public -- a forum of some sort?
All the best,
Leigh
Chris Fremantle wrote:
>
> Hi
>
> I have a little more info about where the consultation on the new National
> Cultural Strategy has gone.
>
> Well, apparently, and don't quote me, the issue is so important that more
> time has been spent on planning the process and ensuring that it does not
> look like just another civil service consultation.
>
> There will be four key issues (in no particular order):
>
> 1. Inevitably the structure of the national institutions (SAC Scottish
> Screen, National Museums) and their ability to deliver against the
> Executives objectives (as prioritised below)
> 2. Cultural Rights....
> 3. How to get the creativity of the cultural sector (and the arts in
> particular) serving the economic needs of the country
> 4. and how to promote the cross cutting agenda.
>
> Personally, what concerns me is that this could lead to a completely
> metropolitan discourse around these issues.
>
> Anyway
>
> Chris
>
> --
> Chris Fremantle
> Cultural Historian and Curator
> www.chris.fremantle.org
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a m b i t : networking media arts in scotland
post: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
archive: http://www.mediascot.org/ambit
info: send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
and write "info ambit" in the message body
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