ArtsDebate Public Findings Report

The Arts Debate Findings of Research among the General Public

2 February 2007
Prepared for:
COI, on behalf of its client, Arts Council England
Prepared by:
Creative Research 43 The Broadway London W13 9BP
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Job No: 539
020 8567 6974 020 8567 6979 creative@creativeresearch.co.uk
Table of Contents
Page 1 Summary of Findings and Conclusions.......................................................... 1 1.1 1.2 1.3 2 Introduction .................................................................................................. 1 Summary of Findings ................................................................................... 1 Conclusions and Challenges........................................................................ 6
Introduction ..................................................................................................... 14 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 Background and Research Objectives....................................................... 14 Research Method....................................................................................... 15 The Sample for the Research .................................................................... 15 Timing of the Research.............................................................................. 19 The Content of the Discussions ................................................................. 19 Structure of the Report............................................................................... 20
What is Art? What are the Arts? ................................................................... 22 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 Introduction ................................................................................................ 22 What Counts as Art?.................................................................................. 22 What Makes Something Art? ..................................................................... 25 The Response to Conceptual Art ............................................................... 36 What are the Arts? ..................................................................................... 39
Accessibility of the Arts and Obstacles to Greater Engagement ............... 42 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 4.8 4.9 Introduction ................................................................................................ 42 Engagement with the Arts .......................................................................... 42 Motivation for Engagement ........................................................................ 43 Perceived Accessibility .............................................................................. 45 Changes in Accessibility over Time ........................................................... 48 Barriers to Engagement ............................................................................. 49 Psychological Obstacles to Attendance ..................................................... 50 Tangible Obstacles to Attendance ............................................................. 59 Obstacles to Participation .......................................................................... 66
Benefits of the Arts ......................................................................................... 70 5.1 Introduction ................................................................................................ 70
5.2 5.3 5.4 6
Are the Arts Beneficial? ............................................................................. 70 What are the Benefits? .............................................................................. 73 Benefits of the Arts for the Actively Involved .............................................. 86
Public Funding of the Arts and the Role of the Arts Council ...................... 88 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 6.6 Introduction ................................................................................................ 88 Awareness and Expectations of the Arts Council....................................... 88 Response to Information about ACE.......................................................... 92 Expectations of how the Arts are Funded .................................................. 95 Response to Information about Public Funding of the Arts ........................ 97 Experience of Applying for Funding ......................................................... 100
Priorities for Arts Council Funding ............................................................. 103 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5 7.6 7.7 Introduction .............................................................................................. 103 Funding Criteria ....................................................................................... 103 Reasons Not to Fund ............................................................................... 112 Other Ideas .............................................................................................. 115 Impact on Perceptions of the Arts Council ............................................... 119 Accountability of Fundees ........................................................................ 123 National Lottery Funds............................................................................. 126
8 9
Impact of the Discussion.............................................................................. 127 Conclusions and Challenges ....................................................................... 132 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 9.5 9.6 9.7 Introduction .............................................................................................. 132 The Value Placed on the Arts .................................................................. 132 Funding Priorities and their Perceived Value ........................................... 132 Implications for the Arts Council............................................................... 134 Implications for Fundees .......................................................................... 136 Increasing Engagement with the Arts ...................................................... 136 What do we call it?................................................................................... 138
1
1.1
Summary of Findings and Conclusions

Introduction In twenty discussion groups and ten interviews across England, some 170 people talked at length and in detail about their attitudes to the arts and the impact of the arts on their lives as the basis of this piece of research which begins the arts debate with the general public. The sample was structured according to a number of variables; socio-economic grade, lifestage and level of engagement with the arts principally. While peoples attitudes towards and opinions of the arts were, to an extent, influenced by the first two of these, it was the third (perhaps predictably) that produced the sharpest differences. It was also notable that on a number of issues, there was a commonality of view that cut across all the variables. This executive summary provides a brief overview of the findings according to the principal themes. It then goes on to set out our conclusions based on those findings and some suggestions for what they might mean for the Arts Council. We appreciate that they are our personal views, albeit founded on the research findings, and but one contribution to the debate. We offer them as points for further discussion.
1.2 1.2.1
Summary of Findings What is art? What are the arts? The discussion around the age old issue of what is art proved very interesting and thought-provoking. Examples of what counted as art ranged from visual art or even simply fine art, through a broad range of traditional art forms, design disciplines, crafts, artisan and domestic skills. Some respondents
included types of sport, natural phenomena, intellectual pursuits such as science and maths, and everyday activities like playing games or socialising in their definition; a case could be made for considering all as candidates.
-1Creative Research, 43 The Broadway, London W13 9BP
However, from the threads of the various discussions, there seemed to be three components to what truly made something a work of art; if something had all three in great abundance, then it might be deemed a great work but if lacking in certain components, it might simply be art or perhaps a creative activity. The three components are: the original creative idea, the skill and effort that goes into executing that idea and transforming it into an end product, and the achievement of a response from an audience. Other factors also came into play in deciding whether something was art; the distinction between art and entertainment, the context in which the piece is viewed, fashion and marketability, personal taste and the quality of the end product. Given its profile, it is perhaps unsurprising that the issue of The
conceptual art was raised early on and strong views were voiced.
attitudes of those for and against it can be seen in the context of their views about what makes something art. The arts, by contrast, prompt a far more closed and constrained response. They are not seen as a collection of things that one might call art but have a particular meaning that is focused on traditional, and what are perceived as elitist, art forms.
1.2.2
Accessibility of the arts and obstacles to greater engagement Access to the arts was not identified as a significant problem. Except for some exceptions where there was a lack of provision for certain age groups in certain locations, and where cost prevented greater frequency of
engagement, respondents felt they could access the arts if they really wanted to. For many among the low engaged, there was no need for the arts to be more accessible they felt they simply would not take advantage of the opportunities. Many older, more middle class respondents, felt that the arts should be more accessible to those who had few opportunities but they also recognised that any such attempts to engage such people might be rebuffed.
While people were able to identify many things that hindered greater engagement with the arts and these were often shared across groups, there was little sense that, in themselves, they were necessarily insuperable barriers and a number admitted they were really excuses. The twin barriers were therefore shown to be a lack of motivation and inertia. The obstacles identified as getting in the way of engagement with the arts and therefore contributing to these barriers divided into the psychological; the perceptions and preconceptions that reside within people, and the more tangible obstacles, the things out there over which they feel they have little control. The former breaks down into concern that an event or performance or visit wont be worth it peer pressure feelings of exclusion or being unwelcome uncertainty about dress code and etiquette.
The latter into cost time distance to travel and issues of getting there having someone to go with booking problems and uncertainty about seating arrangements awareness of what is on.
Except among the young, there was not a great call for more opportunities to actively participate in the arts. Many of the obstacles were the same but the most significant was that of a lack of confidence in ones ability and the fear of feeling embarrassed or stupid if embarking on something new. Respondents were able to offer some suggestions for overcoming these obstacles.
1.2.3
Benefits of the arts There was broad agreement that the arts offer a range of benefits to individuals and society. Even though some of the low engaged felt those benefits were less relevant to their own lives, they acknowledged that they applied to others. The most top of mind benefits were those that had personal resonance for people; the provision of entertainment and pleasure (universally appreciated), the enrichment of their lives, the opportunity to express oneself and communicate with others, a sense of identity for individuals and communities and the improvement of mental and physical health. Other
social, educational, political and economic benefits were also acknowledged but they did not seem to have the same impact.
1.2.4
Public funding of the arts and the role of the Arts Council Only a few respondents had a fairly detailed picture of what the Arts Council does, of whom a few had either applied for funding in the past or considered it. Many had heard of the Arts Council but had little idea of its role and some misunderstandings were evident. There was some association of the Council with what were seen as the more traditional arts and a perception that either the largest national companies received most of the funding or that funds were awarded to politically correct or simply daft projects. There was also questioning of who might sit on the Council and how they were selected. In general, the attitude was fairly neutral however and when participants were given some facts about the Arts Council, they responded positively and with interest. Its regional decision-making structure, independence from
Government, priorities up to 2008 and examples of funded projects contradicted what people had suspected. However, its mission and the fact that it had been around for 60 years led some to feel they should have seen more evidence of the Arts Council in their local areas. There was broad acceptance of the need for public funding of the arts; without it the arts scene would be much poorer in quality and less accessible. The
level of current funding was unknown but at 39p per household per week, seemed very reasonable. However, the total annual spend was seen as
significant and again, the expectation was that it should be seen to be touching peoples lives. The key questions for most were therefore how were the funds allocated and against which criteria, questions that they found they had the opportunity to comment on.
1.2.5
Priorities for Arts Council funding When asked to take on the role of decision makers at the Arts Council, respondents did not find it an easy task and this led to some empathy with those that actually do the job. When making decisions about which projects to fund, most of the criteria that were applied were those with a social purpose; they should deliver benefits to society, they should reach as wide and diverse an audience as possible, people should gain something positive from the experience and the benefits should last beyond the period of funding. It was not surprising therefore that many of the projects that respondents would fund were based in communities. In addition, there was a strand of funding that was aimed at preserving flagship companies and organisations because of the excellence they exemplified, the source of inspiration they represented for young artists and the role they performed as part of Englands heritage. This strand came with conditions however; the desire was to see such high profile companies become less dependent on public funding whilst justifying their considerable public funds by ensuring greater access for ordinary people. The sorts of projects that respondents were reluctant to fund were those that seemed to support an individual in realising their own (often commercial) ambitions. It was felt that they, like certain more commercial organisations, should be able to raise funding from sources other than the public purse. For individuals, however, the idea of the Arts Council providing loans rather than
grants or insisting on some community benefit was more acceptable. Public art was also an area that most chose not to support. While many were impressed by the diversity of projects that the Arts Council funds and the audiences that they reach, questions remained about the balance of funding and how decisions were made. Some also felt that they had not seen projects that they felt were ambitious or exciting enough in terms of inspiring new audiences. There was a call for greater transparency in the Arts Councils decisionmaking, the inclusion of a public voice as part of this, the sharing of good practice among potential and existing fundees, and consideration of how those that receive funds can be made accountable in a way that is not unwieldy, constraining or costly.
1.3 1.3.1
Conclusions and Challenges The value placed on the arts We conclude that this research demonstrates that the arts are seen as offering enormous public value. It shows that among the general public who are given the opportunity to explore their experience of the arts and discuss the place of the arts in their lives, there is an appreciation that the arts are of personal value to them, albeit of varying levels. They may prefer to call their chosen art forms
entertainment in order to distance themselves from more conventional art forms, but there is an acceptance that their lives are touched by the arts when a broader definition is applied. More strikingly, there is overwhelming agreement that the arts perform an important and valuable role within society generally. A long list of benefits offered by the arts is readily accepted and those who are less engaged with the arts recognise their value to others, if not for themselves. The idea of a world without the arts is abhorrent to all and there is widespread acceptance
of the importance of supporting the arts with public money.
There is an
almost universal call for children to be brought up with exposure to the arts, for their own sake and for that of wider society.
1.3.2
Funding priorities and their perceived value Given its mission, to put the arts at the heart of national life and people at the heart of the arts, and the fact that the Arts Council distributes public funds, it is not surprising that the criteria that are given top priority in making funding decisions are benefiting society at large reaching as many people as possible deriving lasting benefits.
Great value is put on community based projects that will deliver benefits for individuals and wider society whereas other areas of funding lead to negative opinions about the delivery of public value. The most contentious areas are high levels of funding for the large, national companies funding for individuals and public art (which often happens to be conceptual).
If these are to be areas of funding for the Arts Council, then their value needs to be communicated. The problem for the national companies and organisations seems to be their ready association with elitist arts that much of the population is not interested in or if they are interested, are unable to access. There was little appreciation of efforts they are currently making to try to widen access or these are thought to be ineffective. Their principal role is seen as an exemplar of excellence in their specific art forms and in their ability to engender a sense of national pride. They represent a legacy for the future, something to which the young people engaged in the national youth organisations, for example, can aspire. While this perceived value justifies funding to a degree, there is a need to
communicate how public funding is employed and what is achieved through it. Moreover, if the public are correct in their suspicion that access is not being widened as a result of current funding, then perhaps different techniques to encourage new audiences are needed. Mainstream thinking is that public art funded by the public does not deliver value either because people find it hard to understand (and dont wish to find out what it is about) and/or the context in which it resides (e.g. outside a hospital, in the middle of a roundabout) affects perceptions of its value (the money would be better spent inside the hospital). High profile and admittedly, semi-figurative works such as the Angel of the North seem to have more chance of being assigned value, even if they take time to grow on you. The funding of individual artists was not seen as being of great benefit to society; the launch of a career and commercial success were not the outputs that the public envisaged from Arts Council funded projects. If this funding is to continue, then perhaps messages about the needs of the artist, size of the awards, the matching of funding and repayment if success results, may be helpful in changing perceptions. Alternatively, given that the commercial motive is one of which the public is so suspicious especially when it comes to the use of public funds, then perhaps the Arts Council (and Government) should give the economic importance of the arts greater emphasis in communications on the subject.
1.3.3
Implications for the Arts Council The first implication of the varying levels of approval for different types of projects, is perhaps to raise the question of whether the Arts Council should establish more clearly defined funding streams possibly, community projects, national companies and individual artists. This might help public perceptions because they would see that each project was not competing for the same pot of money but was competing for funds against similar types of applications. The application and decision-making processes could also be
tailored to the types of candidates. The real and ongoing challenge for the Arts Council would be to decide on the size of pot available to each funding stream. The research revealed much latent interest in what the Arts Council is and how it uses public money. To combat accusations of institutional exclusivity and satisfy this interest, there is a need for the Arts Council to build a higher profile for itself and step out from its role in the back office. This is not to say that it should market itself through costly campaigns but it needs to create awareness of what it is trying to achieve and what this means for the public, artists and arts organisations. The Arts Council needs to become associated with the broad range of projects of a high quality that it funds and to inform people of opportunities open to them. It should publicise the fact that information, advice and
guidance are available and be more proactive in providing this. The website is a starting point with tools like the feasibility check suggested by one respondent but there is an expectation of help readily available at the end of the phone as well as staff being prepared to visit applicant groups. This could have serious implications for staffing and the expectations of applicants will need careful management as they are likely to be high. Greater transparency is required to offset the suspicion that exists about funds going to favoured people and companies. As groups begin to feel that the Arts Council is a potential source of funds, they will demand to know how and why funds have been allocated, both as initial awards and as continued funding. The Arts Council, with its overview of publicly funded arts in England and its mission to increase access, will need to provide information about best practice in the arts. While the arts go hand in hand with creativity and
originality, information about the more mundane side of the operation of community projects could be usefully shared to ensure optimum
effectiveness. This should include the sharing of lessons learned from less successful projects.
There is clearly a desire for members of the public to contribute to decision making at the Arts Council alongside the specialist expertise that they recognise as essential. The concept of a more democratic rather than
collegiate approach would seem to have some merits especially for the community-based projects. Many of those that took part in the research seemed to have the local insight, the ability to be open-minded and a genuine interest in the arts and what they can offer, that would equip them to fulfil such a role.
1.3.4
Implications for fundees A requirement for there to be in place a clear statement of the aims of a project or group, the monitoring of the use of funds and an evaluation of the outcomes against aims, was seen as only common sense and as something demanded by other funding sources. There was no desire for this process to be complex, restrictive, costly or overly cumbersome and most assumed that something along these lines was already in place. If the Arts Council and its role are to become better known and its decision making is to be seen as transparent, then the meeting of these responsibilities by fundees will be expected and required.
1.3.5
Increasing engagement with the arts Access to the arts is not perceived to be a major issue. Some feel that they have as much to do with arts as they would like; others would like to be able to do more and claim that if certain obstacles were removed, this would make it easier for them to do so. Certain of these obstacles are very tangible and seem very real for example, the lack of provision for certain groups in specific locations, and the cost of access. However, if the twin barriers
impeding greater engagement with the arts are more generally a lack of motivation and inertia, the question seems to be, would more people engage
with the arts or do so more frequently if the various obstacles they cite were to be overcome? We suggest that the most important obstacles, especially for those we have called the low engaged, unengaged or anti-engaged are the psychological ones, those that prevent people even considering attending or (god forbid) actively participating in some form of the arts. Central to any strategy for combating these obstacles and thereby having any chance of increasing engagement among these groups will be providing reassurance. People need to be reassured that, whatever the art form, it is for people like them they will feel at ease they will enjoy it.
This is not to say that the more tangible obstacles are unimportant. If some of these can be lowered, then perhaps they can contribute to creating this vital reassurance. Thus, the arts need to be available in a popular, familiar form where the emphasis is on fun and enjoyment available more locally well publicised in the sorts of places that reach the intended audience publicised in an appealing way that tells people what they will get out of it.
We suggest that an analogy could be drawn with the way in which museums have developed over the last twenty-five years. In the past, the focus in museums was on the collections and exhibitions were very object based, offered minimal interpretation and delivered very serious and academic communication that was inaccessible to most ordinary people. They have become places in which the emphasis is on the communication of ideas, where multi-media, hands-on experiences happen and where learning takes place alongside entertainment and having fun. Visitor numbers and a broader socio-economic profile attest to their success.
Some of the most popular and inclusive events that enable people to sample the arts seem to be the outdoor festivals (sometimes, but not always called arts festivals), carnival and street performance. The open nature of these events means that anyone can wander through, they can move on if they are not enjoying something and there are other distractions like refreshments and the facility to socialise that add to the experience. There would therefore seem to be an opportunity to use such events as a means of exposing people to new and familiar art forms in a familiar setting. Another tactic that might be exploited is using children to bring their parents into the arts. Parents say they will respond if their children request interaction with the arts so perhaps they should be given the opportunity to do so by making inexpensive, local events and productions available.
1.3.6
What do we call it? Finally, we have noted the restrictive and even negative associations for many people of the term, the arts. The options for confronting these seem to be to maintain and support the accepted meaning as the traditional arts but make these more accessible to create another term with a wider meaning such as arts and entertainment somehow to widen and popularise the meaning of the arts.
We would favour the last of these because clearly, the arts world is always changing and new and emerging art forms are earning their place within it. Moreover, defining the boundaries between the arts and non-arts is not easy as the exercise looking at what counts as art, demonstrates. The arts
therefore needs to become a flexible receptacle for a changing range of activities perhaps defined according to the three requirements of the creative idea, effort and skill, and gaining a response.
We suggest that this shift in meaning is best achieved, not by a self-conscious campaign that risks alienating the very people it seeks to engage, but instead by a slow and more subtle repositioning of the Arts Council and its association with a broader range of funded projects.
2
2.1
Introduction
Background and Research Objectives In its 60th anniversary year, the Arts Council is seeking to create a value framework incorporating a measure of public value which, over the coming years, will act as a driver for its policies, resource allocation and evaluation. To help in development of the framework, the Council has instigated the arts debate aimed at eliciting and discussing the views of a range of stakeholders on how the arts are currently perceived and valued how the Arts Council can enhance its delivery so that it creates greater value for the public how the needs of different stakeholders can be balanced against the aspirations of the public. For the first stage of the arts debate, the Arts Council commissioned research among the general public looking at their experience and perceptions of the arts. This report sets out the findings of this exploratory research. The
specific objectives were to explore how different segments of the population experience the arts in terms of: perceptions of what is and should be covered under the term, arts accessibility of the arts in everyday life perceived benefits to themselves and others perceived role of the arts locally, regionally, nationally and internationally expectations for the future barriers and incentives to participating in the arts awareness of the Arts Council and its role
attitudes to funding of the arts and how this should be prioritised.
2.2
Research Method In order to be able to explore peoples views fully on this wide range of topics around the core subject of the arts, a qualitative approach was adopted. The major part of the research consisted of twenty discussion groups with members of the public; a format that allowed people to exchange views and bounce ideas off of each other and develop them in discussion. In addition, ten interviews were conducted with individuals or groups of two or three people who were actively involved in various arts activities at grassroots level. They were either volunteer organisers of the groups or
active and long-standing participants. The purpose of these interviews was to gain a deeper understanding of the particular benefits derived from active participation and the funding issues faced by groups.
2.3 2.3.1
The Sample for the Research Discussion Groups with the General Public The twenty discussion groups were each made up of people who shared certain characteristics; they were broadly similar in terms of their socioeconomic group (ABC1 or C2DE), their age and personal circumstances (often called lifestage) and their level of engagement with the arts. Participants were invited to take part in the research on the basis of their responses to a screening questionnaire (included in the appendices). The table on the next page summarises the structure of the sample. We have provided further explanation of what the variables mean below this.
ABC1 Dependent Singles Pre-family Family Post-family Retired Medium Low Low Low Medium High Medium Medium High High Low Low
C2DE Medium High High High Medium
Medium Medium Low
Each of the lifestages was defined by certain key characteristics: Dependent singles: young people aged 16-20 who were still dependent on their parents, living in the parental home or away at college. These groups included a mix of people in education, on apprenticeships, working and unemployed Pre-family: in the age range 21-35, these people were They might be in a
financially independent of their parents.
relationship or married but would not have any children Family: people with at least one child aged under 16 living with them at home; a mix of those with children under 12 and those with children aged 12-16 Post-family: all were aged over 46 but below the state
retirement age with no children aged 16 or under living with them Retired: People aged 55 and over and who had taken early retirement or people at or older than the state retirement age.
The sample was divided into two broad socio-economic groups, ABC1 and C2DE. Very crudely, this means that the head of household works or used to work within professional or white collar occupations (ABC1) or works or used to work in more blue collar occupations or is unemployed/dependent on a state pension (C2DE). The method of arriving at some definition of level of engagement with the arts was developed through piloting of the screening questionnaire. It was primarily based on the candidates own rating as to how interested he/she was in the arts (the definition of the arts was left to them) - they were given the choice of: o I am very interested in the arts o I am fairly interested in the arts o I am not at all interested in the arts how the arts fitted into his/her life options were: o I devote much of my leisure time to the arts o Id like to have more to do with the arts if I could o The arts are one of my leisure interests o Id rather spend my leisure time in other ways In addition, candidates were asked about the frequency with which they attended or took part in different art forms and some boundaries were put on these frequencies. For example, someone with a low level of engagement would not be expected to go and see an arts-related performance more than twice a year (unless it was a film) nor to take part in more than one artsrelated activity. They might do a single dance class or take part in a craft activity for example. By contrast, everyone (except those who had retired) in the highly engaged groups was expected to attend a performance, event or exhibition on a fairly regular basis and a proportion were expected to actively
participate in one or more art forms. Each group included people with interests in different art forms and was split between men and women. Many groups included people from BME backgrounds and overall, 14% of the sample was Black, Asian or of dual heritage. The groups were held across England in a mix of urban, suburban and rural locations, with two and occasionally three groups in each government region. Groups were held as far North as Carlisle and Newcastle-upon-Tyne, as far South as Eastleigh, to the West in Tiverton and Much Wenlock and to the East in Great Yarmouth and Holt.
2.3.2
Interviews with the Actively Involved The people who took part in these ten interviews were engaged in the arts in a variety of ways. Six interviews were with people who led or participated in arts groups. These were a craft club set up by a group of mothers to raise money for a primary school but who are now considering selling their jewellery and crafts as a business a community project led by a couple of women involving local schools and residents in improving a local park; the first stage was the design and installation of a series of mosaics in the play area an annual rural arts festival a creative writing group based in a theatre in a market town a choir specialising in early English music an amateur dramatics group.
Two interviews were with volunteers who had set up or helped set up local arts activities and classes for children and young people
one was originally based largely on dance and was specifically for children of African descent, but it has since broadened its activities and audience
the other involved saving a local community centre from development for the local community and turning it into a centre focused predominantly on the arts.
The final two interviews were with people who took part in the arts in some way and in one case, with career ambitions in them one was with a recent graduate from a drama college who is working part-time while auditioning for roles the other was with a man who had always been interested in the arts but since becoming the victim of criminal injury and being unable to work had turned to art (in part as therapy) and exhibited his work.
2.4
Timing of the Research The research was carried out in November 2006 in two waves so as to allow for a review of progress and any modifications that might be needed mid-way. While no changes were required to the screening questionnaire, small shifts of emphasis were made in the group discussion guide either because we felt we should tackle an issue in a different way or because we wished to explore particular issues in greater depth than time had allowed thus far.
2.5
The Content of the Discussions The group discussions involving people with a low level of engagement with the arts lasted around two hours while those with people with a medium or high level of engagement lasted up to three hours. This extended time was felt to be essential, not just because there was a great deal to cover but because we wished to give people the time to think about and get into the
subject matter. As we found, most had never discussed the arts in this way and arrived for the sessions wondering if they would have anything to say. A number of exercises were also used to stimulate discussion and energise the group and to encourage participants to think beyond their own immediate experience. Discussion guides for the group sessions and interviews are included in the appendices and provide the detail of what was discussed. These were not followed slavishly because some issues arose quite spontaneously at different points. Also, some parts of the discussion were not covered or covered only superficially because of time constraints.
2.6
Structure of the Report In sections 3-7 of the report, we provide comprehensive detail of the research findings according to its main themes What is art? What are the arts? Accessibility of the arts and obstacles to greater engagement Benefits of the arts Public funding of the arts and the role of the Arts Council Priorities for Arts Council funding
This is followed by a short section about the impact that taking part in the discussions had on respondents and another setting out our conclusions and views on the challenges raised by the findings. Our report is peppered with verbatim quotations from respondents which should be seen as examples of the sorts of things people were saying rather than an exhaustive collection of the evidence. Dialogue in bold type indicates a comment or question from the moderator.
For those with less time or inclination, the previous section provides an executive summary of the findings and the conclusions we have drawn based on these.
3
3.1
What is Art? What are the Arts?

Introduction The way in which we tackled the issue of what people felt should be covered under the term, arts, was by asking them to think about not just what was art, but what was not art and the things that fell somewhere in between, or things about which they were unsure. Each group member was given a pad of post-it notes of different colours (for art, not art and art?) on which they wrote things that they felt fell into each category. These were then stuck onto a wall (or boards if a wall was
unavailable) by each member while others, if they felt so inspired, could add to their own lists. The three collections of ideas (which are provided as
amalgamated lists in the appendices) then led to a discussion in which the reasons behind peoples choices were explored and developed. This exercise proved extremely illuminating and whilst the particular items and where they were placed varied, certain items and themes emerged fairly consistently. This enabled us, after review and in a bid to save some time on this issue, to arrive at a set of items that we could give to participants in the second wave of research and to sort according to whether they considered them art, not art or art?
3.2
What Counts as Art? The immediate response of many was to think of art in terms of visual arts and even fine art while others listed things that might commonly be seen as a catalogue of the arts, taking in ballet, sculpture, theatre, literature and so on. Some immediately took a broader perspective and might include crafts (jewellery making, glass making) or aspects of design (graphic, car, landscape, lighting) or domestic or artisan skills (breadmaking, quilting, hair styling, bricklaying, wrought ironwork). Once more conventional boundaries
had been crossed by one or more group members, others might take up their lead and follow quite willingly. We felt that there was a greater openness to a broader definition of art among the women than the men and possibly among younger people (though some of the very young seemed to lack the experience and vocabulary to broaden their thinking). There was a notable difference in the number and range of outputs of people who were engaged to a low level with the arts and those who were engaged to a medium or high level. In the table below are shown what constituted art for the two low engaged groups in the first wave of research compared with two medium engaged groups that illustrates the difference in the scope of their thinking. Low Engaged, Pre-family, C2DE Buildings Films x 2 Food Football x 2 Graffiti Old buildings Sport - "The Art of Football" Low Engaged, Family, ABC1 Architecture Ballet Books x 2 Buildings Cinema x 3 Cooking DIY Dancing Garden design Music - all genres Opera Pantomime Poetry - Shakespeare etc Television The natural world Writing fiction books Medium Engaged, Family, C2DE Actions Art galleries Ballet Body art Comedy Contemporary pictures Cooking Drama Drawing Emotions Expression
Medium Engaged, Family, ABC1 Advertising Athletics Bridges Buildings Carpentry Chess Childbirth Childrens' concerts (strangling the cat!!) Cinema Comics
Concerts Cookery Fashion design Flower arranging Graphics Half a sheep History Mad contemporary design Maths Motor racing Music Musicals Nature (sunset / sunrise?) Novels Personal photos Prints Rock concerts Science Sex Some music Sport (eg. Football)
Fashion shows Life Love Marriage Mosaics Painting Relations Sculptures Some TV shows on art Words
From just these examples, it can be seen that the boundaries of art were pushed out rather far by some people. Some of the perhaps more surprising thresholds to be crossed were those relating to sport nature and natural phenomena intellectual pursuits such as science and maths everyday human activities such as sex, shopping, playing games, socialising etc.
The most expansive might argue, for example, that essentially art is about communication and since so much of what humans do is about communication (and indeed, this is what makes us human), then art is an intrinsic part of the human condition and therefore, life. Within any art form, people might differentiate between things they would deem to be art and those they would not.
3.3
What Makes Something Art? A lively and thought-provoking discussion tended to follow the display of items; participants were sometimes frustrated that there were no simple definitions of what made something art. They witnessed not only
disagreements within their groups but also within themselves as they changed their mind in response to new points. Many found the discussion very interesting nonetheless and at the end of the session, said how it had made them more open to what art was. This also resulted in many thinking that they were more involved with art than they had previously thought and for most, this was a positive thought. Distilling the various arguments that were offered, there seemed to be three key components to what made something art. Art involves an initial creative idea on the part of the artist based on a desire to communicate something effort and skill on the part of the artist to bring that idea to fruition in the form of an end product a response to the art work from an audience.
There was much debate around each of these steps and we have tried to give a flavour of this below.
3.3.1
The Initial Creative Idea Before a work of art is produced, it has to reside or be created in the artists mind as an idea that he/she wishes to express Now I wonder if thats a clear definition? You have to think about it. It has to be borne of the mind or the spirit before you can say, This is an art form. If its just scribbled on a bit of paper, its not. (Retired, ABC1, High engaged, Urban)
Indeed, some equated creativity with art anything creative or indeed, expressive, is art and therefore could include a DJ deciding which tracks to play, or dancing when drunk in a club Art is expressing your opinions and your mind through certain activities. ((Dependent single, C2DE, Low engaged, Suburban)) Its all expressionism and all expressionisms are art in some way. (Dependent single, C2DE, Medium engaged, Rural) It was assumed by many that the idea should be an original one (even if it had been inspired by someone elses work) so that works that copy faithfully something that already exists are not necessarily art If we are just copying to learn how to do something, it is a skill that we are using rather than if we were embroidering freehand and did something completely creative, then that would be art. (Post-family, ABC1, High engaged, Suburban) One or two took this requirement for originality to an extreme level hence for them, performing a play, musical or a piece of music was not art because you were repeating what had gone before or new comedy sketches were art but old, well-used jokes were not To me, art is starting with an idea and ending up in a physical condition. For me, plays and these things couldnt be art. Maybe Im very ignorant but to me, art is an idea and creation. (Retired, C2DE, Low engaged, Urban) The notion that to be art, the artist has to have the intention of communicating an idea led to debate about whether something can still be art if this is not the prime intention of the artist ie. the work is a by-product of some other intention. A chimpanzee (or young child) might not set out to produce an aesthetically pleasing painting but happens to do so; someone is snapping pictures of their friends to capture a moment but one of the photographs happens to be very good; a footballers prime motivation on the pitch is to score goals but in doing so, he demonstrates great artistry in his ball skills. Can these be examples of art? A number of people argued that football, in particular, had all the elements of art
Sport. I am not sure if it is art, but a really good football match where you have got drama and emotion and things, and grace sometimes, that could be art. (Family, ABC1, Medium engaged, Suburban) This creative aspect of art also fed into a discussion about whether natural phenomena a beautiful landscape or sunset or a spiders web, for example could be classed as art. The majority view tended to be that since (unless you subscribe to the notion of Intelligent Design), such phenomena are not the result of someones creative thinking, they would not count as art. They would only do so if someone human intervened to record them in some art form or changed them in some way It is not really art though because it is sort of just whats there. I mean obviously, if you took maybe a photo of it you could say that is art, but if you are just walking down a normal road and you see a nice view, it is not particularly art. (Dependent single, ABC1, Medium engaged, Suburban) But others homed in on the response that such phenomena could evoke - this might be similar to that evoked by a great work of art I put spiders web down as Not Art, because although they can be really attractive with frost on them and all that, it is not Art I would say that was Art It is creative It is natural Art But you could argue that there is absolutely no intent on the part of the Spider to produce anything other than something to catch its prey in But in my eyes it looks beautiful and when the sun shines on it, it produces that effect. (Post-family, ABC1, Medium engaged, Suburban) The trouble is, if it raises an emotion of any kind, you know what you said, like a beautiful sunset or a beautiful day can make you happy. Something that you see, if it stirs any kind of emotion, then surely it is some kind of art really? If it makes you feel something about it. (Family, ABC1, Medium engaged, Suburban)
On occasion, the inclusion of domestic and artisan skills as art was qualified by the requirement that they involved a degree of design or creative thought. Therefore to be art, they did not involve simply following a pattern laid down by someone else but also some original thought and some expressive purpose; that is, they had to go beyond the purely utilitarian. Such discussions made some participants reconsider their own or others achievements; the bathroom installer, the man who had built his own house, the toolmakers in a family I built my own house, but Ive never thought of it before as an art form. But when I sometimes Ill stand and look at it, and I think, Oh yes. And like you said, you can always think of another way of just improving things. So, yes, as the arts - if you look at it that way, anything that isnt totally practical and totally essential, thats got any kind of whistles and bells, is art. (Post-family, C2DE, High engaged, Rural) I was just thinking about how, how far do you take this art? My son and my husband are tool makers. And when I watch them make something on a machine which then goes off and turns into an enamelled pot which sells thousands Moorcroft. And people buy it because of this fantastic enamelling and artwork. And my son made the tool that made that. And, to me, that is far, thats really, really clever that hes got the imagination and hes not someone thats given to high flown descriptions of anything And to most people, its huh, manufacturing. But its not, he creates. It is creative. (Post-family, C2DE, High engaged, Rural) Indeed, the idea that in fixing cars in their job, they might somehow be involved in art made some of the low engaged warm to the task. The inclusion of science or maths as arts depends on similar thinking someone has to have the capacity and vision to arrive at the original germ of an idea (or hypothesis) and then works away to realise (prove) that hypothesis If you take someone like Einstein, I still cant picture these black holes that he was on about all those years ago. And having had this, this imaginative drive or inspiration, he then spent the next, I dont know how many years, going through God knows how many reams of paper and God knows how many pens and pencils, to prove that there were these black holes, which I also
dont understand. But I think an artist a scientist can see something, then works towards it. (Retired, ABC1, High engaged, Urban)
3.3.2
The Process of Realisation For the majority, those producing art had particular skills or talents that differentiated them from other people; art was not something that everybody could necessarily do unless they had a talent for a particular art form. For most respondents, those skills and talent manifested themselves particularly at the stage of realising the idea rather than in just having the idea in the first place. Artistic talent was often seen as something that one is born with and although it might be developed later in life, an innate ability was important. For most, there were people who were creative and others who were not and supreme talent was met by awe You could just stand in a room and view this marvellous painting, and stand there for an hour and be absorbed with nothing actually happening except you are absorbing the sheer immensity of what somebody has produced. You know, it is that sort of thing that is just overwhelmingly not just, I couldnt do that ever but isnt it wonderful that in this world something of such beauty is created by somebody for us all. (Family, ABC1, Medium engaged, Suburban) A dilemma arose when groups had discussed whether a broad definition of art might mean that everyone was involved in art in some way and might be called an artist I would say I was more involved in art because like nail art and things like that, girls always paint their nails and stuff so theyd be, thats more artistic and when you say like cake designing and stuff, when you make a cake at the weekend or something, you dont really think of it as like being an art form and decorating it, but I suppose it is I think it is more like the effort you put into it, like, it obviously takes a lot of effort to make a cake. (Dependent single, ABC1, Medium engaged, Suburban)
If you went to art classes and you produced a piece of art, even if it was awful, I suppose it would still be art, wouldnt it? (Postfamily, ABC1, Medium engaged, Suburban) The use of computers as part of the development of an idea was commented on in some discussions; for some it detracted from the human being at the centre of the process while others accepted the computer as a tool to aid the process. In the same way with respect to artisan skills, a tool such as a wood turning lathe might be involved but some level of human input was assumed in directing that tool ie. it was not a fully automated process.
3.3.3
The Response There was a very broad feeling that for anything to be art, it had to evoke a response of some kind. It was not enough for someone to create something; it only became art when it was met by a response I still dont think a work of art can exist in a sort of a vacuum, that Ive created a work of art, therefore it is, therefore Im an artist. I think there has to be, even if its only one, one second opinion, who appreciates it Somebody has to be moved spiritually, intellectually, in some way, to define it as an art. (Retired, ABC1, High engaged, Urban) For many, this response should ideally, be a positive and pleasurable one a sense of liking the end product It is about how much enjoyment you get out of it, you see it more as an art if you enjoy it more. (Dependent single, ABC1, Medium engaged, Suburban) But others recognised that often the response was not about liking something. Works of art could instead provoke dislike, distaste, anger or they could simply provoke thought, they could make you see things in a new way or teach you something I would say it couldnt be art if nobody enjoyed it
I would say that there are things that people think are artistic and some people think that they are not Some paintings are pretty gruesome, arent they?... They stimulate interest, dont they? (Post-family, ABC1, Medium engaged, Suburban) People often spoke of wanting to be moved, inspired or changed by a work of art in some way For some, art is anything that can move you And is pleasurable to watch Is a form of art, if it brings your emotions out. (Family, C2DE, High engaged, Urban) But I think we might have to change our perception in some way, art, I think it has to make some changes within yourself. Its something you look at or read or get involved with, I think it has to somehow change you to be called art. (Retired, ABC1, High engaged, Urban) To me, it would be someones ability to make me feel something. (Post-family, C2DE, High engaged, Rural) A really good drama, different portraits and landscapes, sculpture that inspires and is thought provoking, something that gives you a different perspective. Sometimes you see something and you think wow, this gives me a different perspective on things so that would be art Whether it is just commercial or whether it is trying to provoke something extra. I always think art is trying to provoke the human response. Something that is not just basic, it is something extra. (Family, ABC1, Medium engaged, Suburban) I dont think it has to be a warm fuzzy feeling, it could be a really sort of bad feeling but it still made you feel something rather than just sort of looking at it because oh, as long as its made you feel something. (Dependent single, C2DE, Medium engaged, Rural) There was some discussion about the importance of understanding what the artist was intending with the work of art. Most seemed to accept that this was unlikely to be the case and some liked the idea that you had to try and work out what the artist was trying to say
You might just not understand it, like whoever created it might have created it with emotion but then you might not feel it from that piece of art but it doesnt mean that its not art it just means that you appreciate different kinds of art. (Dependent Single, ABC1, High engaged, Suburban) On the other hand, some clearly wanted their art to be undemanding; they could immediately get something out of it.
3.3.4
Other Factors A range of factors were also seen as coming into play in influencing whether something was considered art or not. The picture was rarely straightforward however as shown by the various arguments set out below. The Distinction between Art and Entertainment On a number of occasions, participants dismissed certain aspects of art forms as art because they saw their principal purpose as entertainment, with enjoyment as the intended result. Reality TV shows were rarely classed as art unless they involved a certain level of competence in a performance art such as singing or dance. The status of soap operas was unclear. Grounds for describing them as art would be the fact that they involve acting (a skill that requires talent), and the fact that they may not be entirely enjoyable to watch because unpleasant things may happen or they may set out to convey lessons as part of their message. The converse point was made in the same discussion; works by Dickens that everyone would now see as art began life as instalments in papers and could be seen as soap equivalents of the Victorian age. Some of those who said they had little to do with the arts felt that they were interested in entertainment but not in art precisely because entertainment operated at their level while art went over their heads I think art is perceived as being stuffy, you know a bit over the top. I dont know if its the media thats made it like that but if you cant understand it, like Shakespeare, the words and that, thats
art you know. Anything lower than that, like they have round Christmas -whats it? pantomimes. People dont class it as art so much... Its a condition of mind if you like. You see something, you do something, thats entertainment, thats nothing to do with art. (Retired, C2DE, Low engaged, Urban) I wouldnt have classed Peter Kay and the comedian thing as the arts cos theyre funny and you would want to go and see them! (Pre-family, ABC1, Low engaged) Context for the Work The key example given of this was the perception of graffiti as art and how this changes depending on the context. Unwanted and apparently unskilled graffiti in inappropriate places was definitely not art while imaginative, wellproduced graffiti displayed in galleries or even permitted spaces, was Graffiti on buildings can be really, really threatening, but some graffiti is worth a lot of money. My son actually sold Banksy paintings in Bristol, and he sold them for about 1,000 and they go for 40,000 to 50,000. If you see graffiti in a town it is threatening, I think. (Post-family, ABC1, Medium engaged, Suburban) Slides in the local park might not be art but in Tate Modern I mean, it's like the slides in the turbine hall, I think thats art. A lot of people dont think it's art but I think it's art because the artist says so. Thats why it's art, it's there. (Craft club) One of the low engaged groups commented that art was what went on in their local arts centre while entertainment happened at the local theatre (their preference was for the latter). To confuse the picture a little, the example was given in one group of two disused cooling towers near Sheffield that many now perceive as art and are campaigning to retain them as part of the landscape. Fashion and Marketability There was recognition that what is considered art varies with time and fashion; several participants spoke of fine artists or composers who were
unappreciated in their own lifetime. This was adopted as the basis for arguing that many popular modern art forms may come to acquire classical status in time (see the point about Dickens above also) I think that is the trouble with the arts. It can be very snobby and people can very snobby about it, like rock music is not an art form, it has to be classical. But classical music was the popular music of that time. (Post-family, ABC1, Medium engaged, Suburban) If someone or some body that is respected in the art world passes judgement on something as a work of art, then it becomes accepted as such I mean, one of the first that we had was Tracey Emins bed didnt we? I mean, there was always a lot of speculation when you know, she won the prize but why? It was an art form and it was decided that that was an art form, if you see what I mean Tracey Emin, I would argue, said it was art and a number of people bought the fact that it was art, it doesnt mean to say it is art, it is just that she sold the concept. (Post-family, ABC1, High engaged, Suburban) Personal Taste There was broad acceptance that what is art to one person will certainly not be art for others and certainly, some of those, particularly in the low engaged groups, seemed to put this into practice, perversely dismissing anything they did not like as art! The point was made that one did not necessarily like or appreciate the same art forms as ones children, yet they are still art. Conversely, you might regard what your children produce as art because of your natural bias whereas nobody else would. Some people had noted that as they had got older, their own tastes had changed so attitudes to art should not be seen as fixed Is it something that you have to be exposed to for a long time before you start to learn to appreciate it?... I think the older you get as well, you appreciate different things
I would agree to that You have got to get rid of your prejudices, havent you? (Post-family, ABC1, Medium engaged, Suburban) I think it is a learning process. If you are introduced to it younger you are more likely to appreciate it. I think you do start understanding it, obviously much more as you get older. (Family, ABC1, Medium engaged, Suburban) Quality The issue of the quality of the work was something that might be inferred from what was said rather than an explicit discussion. As we have seen, a certain level of skill and talent was assumed and yet in broadening their definition of art to include more popular and accessible art forms, the issue arose of whether these involved high levels of skill. To circumvent this dilemma,some groups chose to identify different levels of skill. They would not necessarily equate a play performed by an amateur dramatics group with that put on by professional actors. Another group
differentiated between a routine performed by a gymnast and one which resulted in a wonderful display. In this way, one might differentiate between art and great art The trouble is, great art is linked with skill. You dont want some ballet dancer who is just going to trundle around. The training that has gone in and the appreciation, it really is a skill to get to that level. I think, the same with an artist, the greatest artist must have had a skill that other people havent got and thats what sets us apart from sort of the man in the street I think When you say that, they all started from somewhere so in the early years you are saying what they produced wasnt art, and then in later years, what they produced is art. So I mean, thats a bit of a weird argument, isnt it really? You were saying about it being art and then great art, well, is there a difference between the level of anything? So it is not that it is not art, it is making it as good as art. (Post-family, ABC1, High engaged, Suburban) Younger people in a single dependents group differentiated between good and bad art; the former was hard to create, the latter not
I think it's just a case of good and bad art. It's still art even if you've got no talent. It's like you're expressing yourself so that's art but it might just be rubbish." (Single Dependent, ABC1, High engaged, Suburban)
3.4
The Response to Conceptual Art Conceptual art was mentioned frequently during this part of the discussion and recorded by a number of people on their post-it notes in various forms (animals in formaldehyde, half a sheep, anything that wins the Turner prize, pile of bricks, unmade bed, Tracey Emin). These were always included within the art? or not art categories. The debate about conceptual art offers no new arguments but it is perhaps interesting to see how it plays out in the context of participants definition of art. The supporters, who were in the minority, argued that the talent of the conceptual artist is seen most readily at the initial stage of coming up with the original idea I think it is about peoples ideas and their imagination, they dont necessarily have to be skilled, you just have to get those across. (Dependent single, ABC1, Medium engaged, Suburban) Its the thought, isnt it, I suppose. What you are saying about the bed, when that first came out I was like, what a load of rubbish but the other point is that sometimes when I get out of my bed and I look at my bed, I think I could just jump straight back into it. So I suppose that is the creative side of it, isnt it? that is showing you about life itself, its not just about the unmade bed, its showing you like how busy your life is. (Pre-family, ABC1, Medium engaged, Suburban) sometimes the process by which a piece is created is an important part of the work and this might not be evident from the finished item The problem with art in exhibitions and in galleries and stuff is that people see the finished product but not the work thats gone into it so like it could have taken years
to come to a piece of paper thats blank. Frankly I dont like that but it would have taken quite a long time to get to that point and there has been a lot of work behind it I saw this programme where there was this big splodge like different paint all over the place and this big canvas about the size of this room and I thought, what a mess. And then they showed how it was made and it was some woman strapped to this thing hanging from the ceiling with loads of paint pots around it flying round the room and I was like, yeah Did it change your opinion on the piece? Yeah, probably give it a bit more value because someones like flying across the room to make it ..But surely then the actual piece isnt the art?... Its what she did Yeah, its what she did to do it is the art. (Dependent singles, C2DE, Medium engaged, Rural) the response that is evoked by a piece is very important and can take many forms it may be conveying a message about life, it may be a physical response. Moreover, if a piece provokes argument, this is a valid response It (cow in formaldehyde) was just like floating, it was about this high off the floor wasnt it It was black and white as well. .. I thought it was superb. (Pre-family, ABC1, Medium engaged, Suburban) Yes, theres in Tate Modern, they have got a light box and when I first saw it I thought this is everything I hate about conceptual art. You know you go to Tate Modern and you go past a couple of rows of genuine skilful moving art, you know, and then you go past some really pretty fantastic wooden sculptures and then you arrive at this box and I thought, oh God, this is crap. And I go in anyway. And it is just a light box... How big is it? It is big enough to walk in, the size of a public convenience I suppose But it was genuinely a, it wasnt
spiritual, I wouldnt go that far but it certainly did something to you which was beyond what you would normally expect from life. (Post-family, ABC1, High engaged, Suburban) The arguments of the detractors were fairly consistent the original idea lacks merit (although they generally do not know what it is) and the artist is not trying to express any real emotion But it wasnt creative (Tracey Emins bed). For something to be creative, it takes a lot of thought and a lot of time and effort. (Post-family, C2DE, Low, Suburban) I wonder why she felt she had to get a response like that. I wonder, Im trying to wonder why she would want to do that, to evoke such a response She said that it was to prove that art was in everyday life, from the unmade bed and dirty underwear and all this, that this was art at everyday living at its rawest. And this was art Im not saying that I understood it, but that is what she said. (Post-family, C2DE, High engaged, Rural) Sometimes I think some people are just trying to be provocative. They are just trying to provoke you to think this is art because it is provoking a response. So an unmade bed, a pile of bricks and just being controversial for the sake of it. I just think that they are taking an easy ride. (Family, ABC1, Medium engaged, Suburban) there is little skill shown in the execution of the idea too often, conceptual art consists of displaying everyday items I just think it is, like, you see a lot of things like, oh, there is a wheel barrow with tools in it, that is just life, thats not art. No effort has gone into that. (Dependent singles, ABC1, Medium engaged, Suburban) Skill has to be involved in art and if you think, I could do that and know it is facetious and that it is modern art and we have to accept it and whatever. You know, a pile of bricks is still a pile of bricks whether it is laid because the shadow falls this way or whatever. It doesnt do it for me. (Family, ABC1, Medium engaged, Suburban))
very often, the piece fails to communicate anything - people simply dont get it. Any response is not a genuine emotional one rather, it is a false one based on what other people say about the piece or an emotion that has been provoked gratuitously by it The fact that the final piece is always really vague and people go to see it and theyre like, oh, it means all this and it probably doesnt. I dont like the way that its shown to people and people respond to it the critics and stuff. (Dependent single, C2DE, Medium engaged, Rural) But I do think that art is snobbery. I think there is a lot of art that is almost like The Emperors New Clothes, we believe it because we have been told it is good. (Postfamily, ABC1, High engaged, Suburban) I think those people are people who have been told that it is art and are buying it because it will increase in value because it is a commodity. (Family, ABC1, Medium engaged, Suburban)
The discussion about the intrinsic value of a piece that demonstrates great talent and skill in its execution compared to the value that is assigned to a piece of conceptual art by those who are prepared to pay high sums for such work, revealed in many participants a fear about being duped by so-called art experts.
3.5
What are the Arts? It became very clear in the first wave of research that while participants might talk about what counts as art in a fairly free-wheeling way, their definition of what counts as the arts was not the same thing at all. Moreover, people were switching between the two terms and what they meant at various points in the discussion. In the second wave therefore, we asked explicitly about the arts and whether they were a collection of all the different things that might be called art or whether they were something distinct from this.
The common response to this question was that there was a fairly established and rather narrow definition of what made up the arts. This might be based on what you had learned at school or formal courses run by colleges; arts programmes on channels such as BBC2 and Channel 4 also set some boundaries. The list of art forms that were offered as the arts therefore, not surprisingly perhaps, reflected (with the exception of combined arts) those that make up the Arts Councils core remit; literature, music, painting, photography, theatre, ballet, opera and so on Traditionally ballet would be the arts the arts are stuffier; it is paintings, theatre, and ballet mainly It is traditional. (Family, ABC1, Medium engaged, Suburban) We reckon the arts - classical music, anything to do with music really, I think youll find what you mean by the arts is when you go back to secondary school and you look at what you did, you had art, drama and music, anything which is based around that. (Pre-family, C2DE, High engaged, Rural) Everybody saw the arts as less accessible than some of the art they had been discussing. They were certainly middle class, if not even more elitist, and this was acknowledged even by the highly engaged But with that, the arts, you do tend to confine it to a few things and then it is elitist and it is middle class but when you look at all these things here, and put them under the arts then that is a different thing altogether, in my opinion. I wouldnt have thought about it in that way. (Post-family, ABC1, High engaged, Suburban) Indeed, the arts were defined for some of the low engaged by their very exclusiveness and exclusivity they were the things that they had nothing to do with and moreover, they felt the arts wanted nothing to do with people like them Its all the stuff I have no or very little interest in. (Post-family, C2DE, Low engaged, Suburban) Opera, ballet. They are two things which I cant understand for the life of me. (Retired, C2DE, Low engaged, Urban) I just thought it was acting and theatre and stuff, opera and sometimes Id rather shoot myself in the head than listen to
opera, Im not kidding you. (Dependent single, C2DE, Low engaged, Suburban) Its true, the arts are really something which is there for the upper classes and actually they would rather the rest of us stayed away. (Retired, C2DE, Low engaged, Urban)
Accessibility of the Arts and Obstacles to Greater Engagement

Introduction In this section, we look briefly at current levels and forms of engagement with the arts, views on how accessible the arts are and what are the things that get in the way of having more to do with the arts.
4.1
4.2
Engagement with the Arts The extent to which people attended arts events or actively participated in the arts was not explored in detail in the discussions as this would have taken up too much time. It was clear however, that the frequency and range of engagements fitted with expectations in terms of low, medium and high engaged; that is, people who felt they were very interested in the arts and devoted much of their leisure time to the arts attended events quite frequently and were more likely to do something in the arts than those who were fairly interested and either said they would like to do more if they could, or the arts were but one of their leisure interests. The types of engagement, as might be expected, varied with lifestage and social class. For example, the engaged single dependents were doing a lot in terms of creative participation (rather than attending events) although this tended to be related to very specific art forms and was often done as a solus activity (eg. playing around with Adobe, drumming, singing, dance, painting). The involvement of those with families was often directed to their children helping them with arts/crafts projects, organising tuition or classes or going on occasional family outings to arts events, generally the theatre. The broadest sampling of the arts was evident among the retired respondents and, to an extent, the post-family lifestage (although many were still tied up with careers). Some were members of choirs, am-dram groups or took art
classes; a few played instruments and a number had hobbies such as card making, flower arranging, dress making, photography and so on. They visited
the theatre, concerts and art galleries and a few were friends of their local arts venue. By contrast, the low engaged had very little to do with what they would term the arts and some were so antagonistic to the very idea that we termed them the anti-engaged. Their involvement might take the form of playing on
arcade dance machines or drinking in pubs where live music was playing (although they did not go there for it). Some went to the cinema occasionally but they would not see this as taking part in the arts. Many of the older respondents were involved in domestic activities such as decorating, baking, gardening. Interestingly, during a couple of the discussions, it emerged that one or two people had been to a local dramatic production and while they had enjoyed it, they were either unwilling to acknowledge or simply did not see this as an example of the arts. 4.3 Motivation for Engagement The subject of how people had become interested in the arts was one raised within the groups by respondents themselves; often when they brought up the question of why others were not interested. The common view was that their attitudes and to an extent, tastes, had been moulded in childhood, perhaps by the interest in the arts of their parents or their family generally and the opportunities they were given to take part in some art form or attend a performance. Others pointed to the influence (sometimes when they were in their teenage or even adult years) of a specific individual; a teacher, relative or a member of their peer group who had drawn them into the arts and a few were switched on to the arts by the impact of a particular artist or performance they had seen. A number of respondents talked about their
interest arising from being dragged along to galleries or theatres by a partner and how this initial reluctant sampling had turned to genuine interest. Congruently, those who were little engaged with the arts often pointed to the attitudes of their parents or lack of opportunities where they lived as the things that had set the pattern for them. As a consequence, they now felt a lack of
interest in the arts and little curiosity to find out if they might enjoy something. Perhaps their interest lay elsewhere (such as in sport). There was therefore a commonly evinced view that to increase engagement with the arts, one had to grab people as children And also, if you are exposed to it as a child or it is something that your family does, then it becomes the norm doesnt it? So the stigma of perhaps going to something like that isnt there Okay, so if there is a family history of doing this sort of thing it becomes quite normal for the children to do it And also they would be encouraged to do it as well And you might come back to that again as well. If you were brought up in an atmosphere where art is respected, even if you might leave it for years, you still have that grounding if you have been to a school where you have learned it, you can come back to it, cant you? (Post-family, ABC1, Medium engaged, Suburban) Some felt that ones tastes and capacity to become engaged in the arts change with age. Some felt that they had become more receptive to certain art forms as they grew older although they were still very aware that they had certain comfort zones which they were reluctant to leave. Preoccupation with childrens needs and interests often overruled ones personal engagement when one had a family but it was suggested that you often picked up your own interests later in life. Those who are actively involved in the arts were motivated to take part in their current activities by three main, and not necessarily exclusive, reasons. It goes without staying that all had a genuine interest in their specific art form but beyond this, only some were motivated by the need to express themselves through it. This was most readily illustrated by the young actress who had completed her course at RADA, now had an agent and was trying for her first role as a professional, and by the choirmaster who felt that whatever his situation, he would be driven to create a high quality of singing in some form. Others were more motivated by a desire to turn an interest into
something that would take up more of their over-available time.

The largest group however, were those whose motivation had originally come from their desire to put something into their local community; the impetus for this may have come from themselves or from others. Hence, the organiser of the rural arts festival wanted it to benefit his community, the organiser of the dance group wished to create something for children of African and Caribbean descent, the woman who worked with others to save a community centre from developers had an ambition to create an arts centre for her deprived part of London, a craft club had its roots in raising school funds and a group of women wished to use the design and installation of a mosaic to kick start improvements in their local park and help with regeneration of the area.
4.4
Perceived Accessibility The view of the majority of the general public, regardless of their level of engagement with the arts, was that the arts were as accessible as they needed to be. Those who were engaged to a high or medium level often felt that they had as much to do with the arts as they wanted to and if they wished to do more, they felt it was up to themselves to take the initiative ie. it was there if they wanted it. This was particularly the case for those living in or near large cities but even some in rural areas accepted that although their interaction with the arts often involved travel, this was something they accepted as the price of living in an attractive rural location and there were always some opportunities more locally Life is full of choices, and you can choose to go into the city to see theatre at a number of venues, but theres lots of small, local amateur dramatic societies that are reasonable. I dont mean poor, I mean very reasonable, at a reasonable price and you can walk there. So thats very accessible from the point of view of travelling into the city on public transport or your own car. So theres all sorts of ways where you can choose to access the arts. (Retired, ABC1, High engaged, Urban) The idea that the arts could be accessed via media such as TV, radio or the internet was not always top of mind, though when prompted on this, this was readily accepted by many. The low engaged were less sure however because
they saw the types of programming they preferred as entertainment rather than art. A number of respondents mentioned that art (at least in the large cities) could be accessed fairly easily and for nothing in galleries and museums. The fact that one could come upon works of art in street theatre, street sculpture, shop window displays, architecture and so on, supported the idea of ready accessibility I think some art is just there in front of you. I have been to Newcastle before and there are men in stilts and all sorts of stuff going on in front of you and you think where did that come from? but I think with other things, you have got to make a bit of an effort to access. (Pre-family, C2DE, Low engaged, Urban) The least engaged had no pressing desire for the arts to be more accessible because they simply would not access them I think if we wanted access to it specifically, there is access to anything that you want to do, but there are only so many hours in a day and so many days in a week. Youve got your certain spare time and I think you choose what you do with it. (Family, ABC1, Low engaged, Rural) I just dont think that I am interested enough to want to create more time for it or spend what little money that I have got on it. (Pre-family, C2DE, Low engaged, Urban) This is not to say that nobody wanted to have more to do with the arts. Some of the younger respondents (single dependents, pre-family) wanted more things available for their age groups to do and see at a reasonable cost in their very local area (Tiverton, Great Yarmouth) and some of the family respondents among the low and medium engaged felt that their children and the family as a whole would like to do more if cost was less of an issue. There was a strong perception among the older, more middle class respondents that the arts were not as accessible to people who were more disadvantaged, either economically or because of disability. They expressed very strongly their desire for wider access although they were also conscious that those efforts might not be welcomed if people were simply not interested Its the individuals interest, isnt it? There are some people who wouldnt ever go to a live performance unless perhaps when theyre younger, a pop band or something like that. But
they wouldnt dream of going to the theatre. Its not, if you like, I hate to use the term, in their culture. (Retired, ABC1, High engaged, Urban) But one persons view in consideration of art is not the same as another ordinarily, so we have friends for whom high art is watching soap operas and listening to country and western music at every possible moment. And literature is the local papers and the daily and weekend red tops and celebrity rags. I dont go much on all that stuff but they do. So again.. But I think if you put other stuff right in front of their noses they wouldnt accept it, they wouldnt want it Well, I dont see why they shouldnt try to, I dont want to convert, yes I do I want to show them that there is something else. (Choir) One man cited the example of an arts centre that was opened specifically to attract ordinary people who had little experience of the arts but instead was frequented by the middle classes But who went? It was my sort of family, who would have done it anyway, but this was a much nicer way of doing it, you know, and it is the same with so much of art isnt it? It is the people who are already enrolled in it who benefit from what it has done. And unless you try and drag people out from watching the television or going to the, it all sounds patronising, bingo or what have you, to enjoy what can be obtained from looking at paintings or listening to music. I dont know whether thats feasible. (Creative writing group) With respect to taking part in the arts, many older respondents felt that there were things they could do if they wished or if they had sufficient confidence but it was younger people who needed more opportunities. In part, this was seen as benefiting the young person or providing a wider pool of talent to feed the arts (as performers or audiences) but the motivation was also the desire to provide productive, interesting things for young people to do to displace antisocial behaviour.
4.5
Changes in Accessibility over Time When those who were engaged with the arts to some degree were asked about how the arts had changed over time, a general, rather optimistic picture emerged of greater access to the arts compared to twenty or more years ago. Macro-indicators of this included; greater investment in the cultural life of cities, more opportunities for passive engagement through new forms of communication (MP3 players, TV, radio, internet), the proliferation of the media giving more opportunities in the creative industries and greater awareness among some institutions (such as museums) of the need to appeal to and communicate with visitors. On a micro-level, people had noticed the greater acceptability of a career in the arts and greater respect for artistic talent and artisan skills, the apparent ease of attaining celebrity and the influence of the media on aspirations, greater encouragement from parents (in part, as a result of the other trends) and, for some, more time and money to spend on the arts. There was a divergence of views about the prominence of the arts in schools; many young people and parents felt there were many opportunities including trips and outreach activities. Older people were more inclined to feel that the national curriculum had squeezed out the arts. While the arts were thought to be in a reasonably healthy state, some felt that the arts had been affected by a more obvious commercial motive and there was some concern that exploitation of the arts for profit could become even more important in the future. This might result in greater prominence given to the most popular and profit-making art forms and less to more traditional art forms. Technology could also mean that live engagement with the arts might decline. Having said this, the expectation was generally of a future in which the arts were much in evidence, people had ever greater access to the media and the arts became more inclusive.
4.6
Barriers to Engagement What came through from the apparent widespread satisfaction with the current level of accessibility was that the most powerful barriers to greater engagement with the arts seemed to be psychological, namely, lack of motivation and inertia. Respondents talked about a wide range of barriers that prevented greater engagement but we suggest that these are obstacles that contribute to building these twin barriers rather than significant barriers in their own right. Indeed, some respondents admitted they were almost
excuses. Many thought that if people were either motivated or prepared to make an effort to engage with the arts, they could do so, in some way. These respondents summed up how, if one had sufficient interest in something, then one would be bothered to access it I think you have to make an effort to do it. Like yes, it is all around us and it is available to us but whether we take advantage of it is like, if you make an effort to go to a dancing class or to practise your clarinet and then actually performing, whether like you are going to be bothered like painting your nails or something like that. I just think it takes effort to actually do the art. (Dependent single, ABC1, Medium engaged, Suburban) I think a lot of the time, if youre interested in something, then you do make that extra effort to go and do it, regardless. (Family, ABC1, Low engaged, Rural) I think if youve got an interest in it, it is easily accessible, its as easy or as difficult as you want it to be. (Post-family, C2DE, Low engaged, Suburban) The view was expressed in several groups that people tend to take the arts for granted they like them to be there but they rarely interact with them. They were more likely to make an effort to visit museums and art galleries when on holiday than at home, when they have more time and are in a more relaxed frame of mind If you go on holiday, say to Barcelona or Madrid or Venice, people go to museums, but I think sometimes you take for granted what is on your own doorstep, and you dont always go to the places that are around in your own area. (Post-family, ABC1, Medium engaged, Suburban)
The obstacles to greater engagement raised by participants were very similar regardless of their current engagement level or their age. Thus, someone in their 50s who was highly engaged with the arts might lack the confidence to try something new just as much as someone who was far younger and had had little experience of the arts. We have divided these obstacles into two groups; the psychological obstacles the perceptions and preconceptions that reside within respondents, and the tangible obstacles, the things out there involved in engaging with the arts that people feel they have little control over. We have begun with the
psychological because we feel that some of these prevent people from even thinking about engaging at all. Under each obstacle, we have described the main points that people were making and then finish with some of their thoughts on how the obstacle might be overcome or at least diminished.
4.7 4.7.1
Psychological Obstacles to Attendance Concern that it wont be worth it The mindset that something would not be worth the effort needed to do it was one that permeated all discussions. Some of the low engaged were
convinced that they (and their children) would not enjoy a visit to a museum or theatre while the highly engaged might attend the theatre fairly frequently but focus on certain types of productions rather than others I think what I always look for is something that we can do as a family, where I can take the kids and I want to know that they are going to enjoy it, so perhaps a bit of interactivity or something.I think if I took them around an art gallery certainly from what I believe an art gallery to be just looking at pictures, they would be bored. (Family, ABC1, Low Engaged, Rural)
This self-constraining behaviour might be based on past experience (a visit to a boring museum as a child or a play that one didnt enjoy) but it was also based on prejudice, a dismissal that one could enjoy something new If I think I wont like it, then I just wont go Right, but why do you think you might not like it? Well, I know what I like. Like I have never, I would never go to a ballet or an opera because I will just sit there hating it. But with art galleries, if I am interested in it, then I know that. I tend to go to things I know about already or have done research on. (Dependent singles, ABC1, Medium engaged, Suburban) Thats where you get stuck because if its not something youve ever done and never really got to know, then you dont know whether you are going to really enjoy it and its then finding that time to actually get to know whether you really want to do it and then you end up enjoying it or not. (Family, ABC1, Low engaged, Rural) There was a recognition that everyone preferred to keep within their personal comfort zone and for many, this seemed a sensible stratagem because they had neither the money nor time to waste on things that were likely to disappoint them. If their family was involved, the cost (monetary and the repercussions of unhappy children) was likely to be even greater. Some of the medium and highly engaged said that they would like to be more adventurous but the cost factor was a deterrent I used to live in London years ago when we were first married, and you could get very inexpensive seats - we were younger then and wed stand! And you were willing to try things, because you hadnt paid much. And we went to see quite a few things when we lived in the heart of London, and we didnt have to travel. And maybe that, as you say, you think to yourself, Well, Im not going to pay 50, I might not like it, whereas if you are paying a fiver (Post-family, C2DE, High engaged, Rural) This woman described how she had received a discount on tickets for four plays and the one she thought she wouldnt like, turned out to be the gem of the entire season And it informed my prejudices, not to be as prejudiced and to be a bit broader and to try something that, at first glance, I would
think, Oh no, not that. And then, why not? Go and try it because youll either like it or you wont. (Retired, ABC1, High engaged, Urban) Rejection of the idea of trying something new was based partly on anticipation of not enjoying it but, intertwined with this, was a fear that one might not understand it, that one might feel out of your depth. This was put down to not having the education or experience to gain the understanding or confidence that makes you feel equipped to have an opinion about what you had seen or heard (and know when you have been conned) If you go to some of the operas and you are not interested, it can go right over your head. Its boring, isnt it? (Post-family, ABC1, Medium engaged, Suburban) If I went to something that I hadnt experienced before, would I have the confidence to say, Yes I like this, or, I dont like this, or understand it? (Post-family, C2DE, High engaged, Rural) Its a pretentious scene, the arts scene, you feel like you have to understand it and sometimes you think theyve just done the picture and everyones just made up the reasons on how theyve come up with this picture, and the persons laughing at them saying, no I never. (Pre-family, ABC1, Low engaged, Rural) Various ideas were suggested to overcome some of these problems: make more available the sorts of arts that people will feel more confident about enjoying or more things aimed at say, young people Stand up comedy is an art but its not the arts because if they had decent comedians round here Id go and see them because I like comedy but they dont have that sort of thing round here. (Dependent single, C2DE, Low engaged, Suburban) put on events that are free and open to all they bring people together and are just fun! Its [Leeds carnival] not just a white, middle class function thing, you know, its - everybody feels they can get out in the street and boogie, whatever. It might not be your scene, it isnt particularly mine, but I appreciate it for what it is, and I think people that go have lots of fun and
love it. And I think we should try to be aiming for more things like that, participating, you know, participation exercises, in other words, where you can come on and sample it and try it, and make it free. You know, the music in the park and that kind of thing. (Retired, ABC1, High engaged, Urban) somehow use word of mouth to get people talking about a more experimental piece this is more likely to get people out of their comfort zone than critics who are seen as part of the arts scene make events that are more experimental also less expensive people might be more willing to take a chance provide some form of explanation of what the art form or production is about in a very ordinary, down to earth manner Fred Dibnah or the style of the Antiques Roadshow experts was suggested as a way into the language of art If you are talking about something that is perhaps not pitched at a common level and it seems a bit high brow, the obvious thing to do is to simplify it, to make it within the ordinary mans grasp. The classic example which we have had over the last few years was Fred Dibnah. He could cover the most complicated of subjects so that anybody could understand what he was talking about Yes, he just had the gift More people like that, more presentations like that. (Post-family, ABC1, Medium engaged, Suburban) provide information that reassures people about what they will see/hear by telling them about what they can expect to get out of an event or performance. This will then allow them to judge if they are likely to enjoy it and therefore if it will be worth going Nothing sort of builds up your enthusiasm. I suppose you should have it within yourself but not everybody does and yet once you become involved in something, very often you will look further. (Retired, C2DE, Medium engaged, Urban) I think if you think that you wont enjoy it, you wont go anyway. I think there has got to be a feeling that you
might enjoy it to go in the first place. (Pre-family, C2DE, Low engaged, Urban) Unless somebody is there of your age group to be able to explain what you should be looking for, you can never appreciate what you are supposed to be looking at. So I think it is that education, but education at peoples levels rather than the elite levels. (Post-family, ABC1, High engaged, Suburban)
4.7.2
Peer pressure A number of respondents admitted that one of the factors that stopped them trying something new was the feelings of surprise or disapproval that they felt would ensue from their family or friends at doing something that people like them didnt do. This was as evident among people in their twenties as those who were retired Well, I like my drink, a pint of Guinness is art to me especially when they pull it properly. No but where are you going tonight? oh, Im going to the theatre you what? (Retired, C2DE, Low engaged, Urban) Some felt that they had become more confident about their own tastes as they had got older It is your age as well, isnt it? When I was 19, if I had said to my mates, lets go to Taming of the Shrew I would probably have been battered. You wouldnt think about it at that age, but that same person, without going to Open University or anything, just has to get older and change. (Post-family, ABC1, Medium engaged, Suburban) Apart from the feeling of departing from the norm, there was an issue with having somebody else to go with and this was unlikely to happen if the potential candidates for this were so prejudiced I think the key is obviously to find somebody to go with you. Even at my age you have still got peer pressure, you still tend to go with your comfort zone with what your friends are doing, when you get time to go out. (Pre-family, ABC1, Medium engaged, Suburban)
The solutions to combating this prejudice seemed to most people to lie in capturing the interest of people when they were young by making it easier for them to be involved in the arts. The aim would be to nurture the idea that it is cool to be involved and in this way produce a new generation who appreciate and feel confident and informed about the arts. Indeed, the parents who were unengaged with the arts sometimes commented that they would jump at the chance to take their children to experience something if the request came from them directly I think that would make a big difference to me, my kids are a bit older than yours but if they said to me I want to go to a gallery, Id take them there straightaway. (Family, ABC1, Low engaged, Rural)
4.7.3
Feel excluded or unwelcome The feeling that the arts or a specific art form was not for people like us seemed to arise in part from a suspicion that people like us were not welcomed by those who organise the events or other people who attend them. This might be because there were codes of dress or behaviour that only those in the know were aware of (see 4.7.4) but for many, and especially those, in the lower social grades, this came from their perception that the arts were for the middle or upper classes and that the working classes were effectively excluded I wouldnt be bothered because you think people look down on you because of the stereotype, because of their personal stereotype, you know, themselves. Because of your personal culture and the lack of education, that they would think So you feel possibly, Im not clever enough to go and mix with some of these other people?... Yes exactly, precisely, thats what I mean Ive put something similar, but inverted snobbery. (Family, C2DE, Medium engaged, Urban) Examples of exclusion might be
they were not invited to events like gallery shows There are select groups of people who are invited to come to these certain showings, which you aint going to get invited to, because you dont fit. (Family, C2DE, Medium engaged, Urban)
they were barred by the cost of attending some performances The trouble with the Royal Opera House, a lot of people are going to think snobby rich people are going to be there but the lower class people, without stereotyping, cant afford to go there and I think if they actually made it more available for people that arent as well off as others, it would be better! (Pre-family, C2DE, High engaged, Rural) I think that they do tend to keep the prices high, especially in London, to keep the riff-raff out, its a snobbish thing. (Retired, C2DE, Low engaged, Urban)
the atmosphere in venues is often unrelaxed and unwelcoming, especially if taking children or trying to encourage young people to attend It [a public funded contemporary art gallery] is almost like a library situation. You are never going to get the youth of today to walk through somewhere unless they are encouraged and welcomed, and unless you know, because it is such an elitist thing, unless you know what you are going to look at. (Post-family, ABC1, High engaged, Suburban)
they are not going to be able to mix comfortably with others there. This could also apply to more popular events - one man spoke about not going to a pop concert because of all the young people there.
There was some discussion of needing to overcome such feelings of intimidation; one young black man described how his concerns about going to the theatre were unfounded Of Mice and Men, that was one of them and that was fantastic yes, it was really good and it totally changed my perception. I thought people who go to the theatre are all lah di
dah and stuff like that and it was really good. (Pre-family, ABC1, Medium engaged, Suburban) These respondents (more middle class admittedly) felt that again, greater confidence had come with age It might bother me that I dont know anything about art, but I would like to see it. I dont think I could talk in depth about a picture Most of them are probably bullshitting anyway When you get older you recognise snobbery and you can deal with it because you have got that level of confidence Thats right. I think when I was younger I probably would have thought it was posh, but now I dont really care because I just think I am as good as them. (Post-family, ABC1, Medium engaged, Suburban) The impact of the trappings that go with an arts event on peoples perceptions was shown vividly in one low engaged group. It emerged during the course of the discussion that in fact half the group either knew about or had attended the annual production of a local amateur operatic group. They looked forward to and enjoyed it, in part because they felt no class barriers. There was no box office as such they just had to phone someones home number for tickets, the venue was not too grand and they had no worries that they would be out of their depth because they would be there with people they knew or people like them. Another way in to the arts that was suggested was via ones children and the activities they want to become involved in it was also a useful way of meeting other people who share the interest But dont you think as well, that if youre involved with something, whether your child does ballet or like my children do ice skating, you get involved and that opens your horizons then to other things. And you really get into that set. And it opens up for you to go and do other things. (Family, C2DE, Medium engaged, Urban)
4.7.4
Uncertainty about dress and etiquette Some of the feelings of exclusion were attributed to not knowing how to dress or behave, or suspecting that one might get it wrong. Should one give a donation in an otherwise free museum or art gallery, for example? The question of dress absorbed many people, with the two ends of the spectrum, from jeans to tuxedo being cited on several occasions. woman had had the experience of feeling totally out of place When I went to the theatre everybody was dressed up to the nines and you know, I sort of went in jeans and I felt totally out of place that these people had come to an event and they had all dressed up and everything else, and I felt like a victim really. (Pre-family, C2DE, Low engaged, Urban) Another was concerned that this would be the case You see, Id like to go, Ive never been to an opera and Id love to go to an opera but I dont know, I dont know whether just to go on the spur of the moment and if I like it, I like it, but I dont know, I just get this impression of these people in their tuxs and their, like ball gowns. (Pre-family, ABC1, Medium engaged, Suburban) A number suggested that people should be more confident to dress as they like and not fall in with convention but others were either not convinced or actually felt that they might like to dress up! I have an opinion, you see it on the telly, they go to these operas and everythings black suits, evening dress, why cant people go in jeans, relax and enjoy it, why do you have to go like a penguin? (Post-family, C2DE, Low engaged, Suburban) The desire for reassurance about the type of person in the audience and what they might be wearing was evident from this suggestion for overcoming this concern. It may not be feasible but it demonstrates that information about dress code or the fact that you can wear anything, would be welcome Perhaps the theatre companies could send DVDs out of part of the play, part of the audience, show what youre going to see and who youll be sat with. It would be too expensive but if they covered that by backsides on seats, then maybe it wouldnt. (Post-family, C2DE, Low engaged, Suburban)
One
4.8 4.8.1
Tangible Obstacles to Attendance Cost The cost of taking part in the arts was the reason most frequently put forward for non- or infrequent participation. Cost related to the price of tickets but it also applied to the cost of travel, refreshments, parking and so on. A trip to a free gallery might still involve expense because of these and if one was taking a family, the cost was even higher If its a choice between having tea Saturday night or going out somewhere to look at pretty pictures, I think sometimes in our house, the Kentucky wins! And a DVD. (Family, C2DE, Medium engaged, Urban) The cost, not just the tickets, the transport, the babysitters, food and drinks can you really justify it? (Family, ABC1, Low engaged, Rural) Because its not necessarily free if somebody says, you know, theres a free gallery in Manchester, then youve still got your tram fare, then youve got to get something to eat while youre out. (Family, C2DE, Medium engaged, Urban) The upshot was that trips to theatres and the like had to be rationed whereas many would like to go more often I cant afford to take my children to things that I would like to take them to. I just cant afford it. For a family of five to go to the theatre, to the big shows, you know we cant do it. We are absolutely desperate to see lots of things, but at the level of the childrens theatres or things like that - they want to see The Sound of Music but we just cant afford it I think most people are excluded on cost grounds. When it is 35 for a ticket or whatever, plus when you have children, you have got to feed them and get them there and back, it is a very, very expensive outing. (Family, ABC1, Medium engaged, Suburban) I think it also depends on how much you want to see something because if you really, really want to go somewhere really expensive youll save for a long time just so that you can go. (Dependent Single, ABC1, High engaged, Suburban)
Various ideas were offered for either reducing the overall cost of attending an event or ensuring that people know about discounts that are available. These included more affordable or free events - a few respondents spoke of municipally funded events or arts festivals including those in other countries that they were aware of or had attended cheaper tickets and special deals such as 2 for 1 tickets on the opening night; some respondents were aware of price promotions but felt they are often still expensive (e.g. only on the most expensive tickets) or for the worst seats in the house take advantage of group discounts; form/join a group in order to get these I took the transport and cost - both linked together because I was a member of the Methodist Church and they had a theatre group there. We used to pay so much every month so that you could get a group booking and get it cheaper. We organised the transport as well, so we had a bus that took us directly there which I think is a good idea. (Post-family, ABC1, Medium engaged, Suburban) advertise events earlier so you have time to plan take advantage of free admissions and free activities.
4.8.2
Time Again, the lack of time to give to the arts was an almost universal theme with the argument going something like - peoples lives are so full and complex that it is difficult to fit in non-essential (indulgent) things like the arts and you have to be really committed to give up this time. The pressures of work, children, friends, as well as other pursuits, all get in the way and stop you getting into the relaxed frame of mind that is necessary to enjoy the arts
I mean I work really hard to be fair, so normally in the week Im absolutely shattered, I go home and I zonk out. When it comes to the weekends, we are all for this healthy living now, Im exercising, then Im phoning round numerous friends, oh what are you doing? This, that and the other and youve got your fella and its trying to co-ordinate a very, very busy lifestyle and a very stressful, fast paced lifestyle to give yourself some time out to do something like this. (Pre-family, ABC1, Medium engaged, Suburban) Many acknowledged that this obstacle, more than some of the others, could simply be used as an excuse if you really want to do something, you find the time. Moreover, if everyone had more time there was no guarantee they would spend it engaging with the arts. This is perhaps, in part, why there were no ideas for overcoming this obstacle.
4.8.3
Distance and getting there Perceptions of the difficulty of reaching arts venues varied greatly. Some did not see a problem with accessing their city centre by public transport while others felt that such transport was too poor or being around a city centre at night, too dangerous. Others might be happy to travel some distance by car but the prospect of insecure or expensive parking was off-putting. Older
(post-family and retired respondents) were more likely to voice concerns about safety at night. In a few of the groups, there was felt to be little locally worth going to see and they looked to London or Manchester instead. The feasibility and cost of such trips was mostly thought prohibitive If you want to see a good show youre talking probably London, all the big shows are there. So cost of bus/coach and then theres your ticket which is a lot of money and its what you can afford. (Post-family, C2DE, Low engaged, Suburban) Ideas for helping with issues of transport were
more local arts facilities; for example, in Bristol, there were thought to be no good quality large venues so that you had to travel to Cardiff Sometimes you have to travel large distances, there is not a lot around the Yarmouth area. No arts places, the theatre doesnt do anything interesting and threatens to shut down every single yearno one is willing to put in money to make any arts in the Yarmouth area, they all worry about making a profit but no one thinks about putting anything in to get something better out of the community. ((Dependent single, C2DE, Low engaged, Suburban))
more performances by the highest quality companies or more significant exhibitions in regional centres I would like to know say, when all the Degas were leaving Paris and coming to Manchester and all that you know. I would like to know that sort of thing There is a tendency for a lot of stuff not to get further than London. (Post-family, ABC1, Medium engaged, Suburban) I honestly do agree that the great 80 piece orchestra would engage anyone, it doesnt matter whether they are into Oasis or, you know, Nirvana or whatever. And I just dont think you get that here, you knowtheres been great exhibitions in London, they sold out. You know, you get hundreds of thousands of people going to theseIt is great art that changes people. (Post-family, ABC1, High engaged, Suburban)
promotions linking transport with the cost of the ticket venue (e.g. London Transport)
dedicated transport that goes direct to the venues; an Arts /Culture Bus that travels round all the galleries and theatres
more information in the advertising about the practical details of accessing a venue including possibly offering the incentive of a free cup of tea
I think more advertising could help. If they have an exhibit they want to advertise more and make more amenities, offer say tea and coffee and you can get your wheelchair in there, and there is a bus route from so and so. (Retired, C2DE, Medium engaged, Urban)
4.8.4
Nobody to go with The importance of sampling the arts with one or more other people, was a recurring theme in the research; having someone to go with gave one reassurance that there would be at least one other person like you, it could be a fun, social outing and you might enjoy discussing the performance with them. The frequency with which respondents had been dragged along or had themselves dragged along someone to an event, attested to the importance of having company. If ones peers tended not to be interested, this presented a real obstacle as suggested by this woman who is describing the picture she has produced to sum up her experience (or lack of) of the arts:
I like the arts, its warm and inviting but there is a barrier up because I think its something that Id like to do, but something that I never seem to get to do because of the barrier. I have nobody to go with or, its just not a regular thing for me. But its not something that I wouldnt, its something that I would like to do more of. (Pre-family, ABC1, Medium engaged, Suburban) Ways to overcome this dilemma were
persuade a friend use internet discussion boards; some productions have web forums and you might get to know someone this way
arts organisations should hold open days where anyone can drop in to find out what they do/what its like and perhaps meet other people
2 for 1 offers on tickets might mean you could persuade someone to go with you.
4.8.5
Booking problems and uncertainty about seats This obstacle is a basket for all kinds of anxieties thrown up by planning and organising a trip to an arts event and the experience once there the demand for some shows is so great that one has to book well in advance; this can be very difficult for those who work to a rota or 8 day week and may not know when they are on duty that far ahead it can be extremely difficult to secure tickets for some shows at all or one is left with just the poorer seats; sometimes blocks of seats may be taken up by agents to start with and then they gradually come back on sale if an event is free, the assumption is that it will be packed and uncomfortable or simply, not very good seats can be so far from the stage that performers become very small and you have to watch them on a screen (you might then do better to get the DVD!) other members of the audience may behave in such a way that your view is obscured
You know, to me, if Im going to go and watch Fred Bloggs playing his guitar or whatever, I want to see Fred Bloggs play his guitar. I dont want to see the backside of some silly woman in front of me, dancing, you know. (Post-family, C2DE, High engaged, Rural) I took my three year old daughter, granddaughter, to see Wind in the Willows at Attingham Park. Open air. It was wonderful, five actors played all the parts, it was incredible. And it rained, it rained, it rained ... And the people in front of us put up umbrellas and I felt really cross. And Eleanor said, I cant see, theres underbrellas in there! (Post-family, C2DE, High engaged, Rural)
4.8.6
Awareness of what is on Many respondents blamed their lack of involvement in the arts on their lack of awareness of what was going on in their area. They were not sure where they should look and if they did know, they claimed they were not always given the information they needed. For example, reviews in the local papers usually only appeared once a show had started by which time it might be too late to book tickets. There was a call for some form of dedicated arts publication that was more attractive and accessible than a listings magazine like Time Out. group, they suggested it should be more like the Big Issue. In one
This would
provide information about events that were up and coming, both locally and further afield, their cost and any discounts available You don't know about hardly anything. I mean if there was a little magazine that came out with the Cumberland News or something every week, that said whats on for this next week, you would have a flick through it. Then, you know about it. Then you have the choice to either go or not go, but if you don't know about anything, you don't have the choice. (Pre-family, ABC1, Low engaged, Rural) There seemed to be a feeling that if you really wanted to find out this information, then you could probably do so but, if going to something arty was not top of mind for you, then you needed to have something almost put in front of you that would persuade you to go
You need more publicity about the art exhibitions at the castle, I know if you look hard enough you can find out the information bur sometimes you need it a bit more clear to encourage us to go. (Retired, C2DE, Medium engaged, Urban) There is a fantastic centre that has just opened called the Gap Centre and that is funded by the ESA. Yet people who live a mile down the road arent even aware of this fantastic centre that has cost millions. (Pre-family, ABC1, Medium engaged, Suburban) I think if everything was well set up and a lot of people agreed with it and then they brought out like a Big Issue for Tiverton kind of thing so then people would know that its there and then I think that would be cool, that would work. (Dependent single, C2DE, Medium engaged, Rural) Some suggestions about other ways of ensuring you knew what was on the horizon so that you could book in advance were joining mailing lists for favourite art venues/art forms subscribing TicketMaster. to email services by companies such as
4.9
Obstacles to Participation Taking part in an art form presented many of the same obstacles but to a more significant degree. Firstly, participation through lessons and practice requires considerably greater and more sustained effort than attendance so that one has to be prepared to commit to it. There were few, especially among the older respondents, who were prepared to admit they would like to try an arts activity but the greatest obstacle for them seemed to be lack of confidence and the anxiety about what others would say or think I would no more get on the stage and act than I would fly. Its just totally, you know, I wouldnt. I would be far more likely to say, well, I would participate in the production, but Id say Id do the hems or something! I wouldnt feel at all comfortable. In fact,
I think I would feel slightly embarrassed. (Post-family, C2DE, High engaged, Rural) They have an art class in the arts centre and I feel Id make a fool of myself because I cant draw a straight line. (Retired, C2DE, Low engaged, Urban) For example, one girl loved watching dance shows but felt she could not dance herself. She danced in clubs but felt inhibited about trying proper dancing; however her final comment suggests a way of breaking down this barrier Oh yes, I do clubbing dance but everyone is too drunk by that time. I mean, dancing, like proper, like choreographed dancing, I would love to be able to do it but I am just too scared to give it a go. If everyone was on the same level as me I would be fine probably. (Dependent single, ABC1, Medium engaged, Suburban) One older woman made the point that sometimes you impose limitations on yourself, thinking that you cant do something before you even try or perhaps you forget that you were once good at something or enjoyed it and feel inhibited about trying it again. There was also a feeling (expressed more widely) that perhaps you might feel guilty about spending time on nonessential things or others might make you feel that way Id say that we often impose limitations on ourselves by ourselves, either wittingly or unwittingly, so that Im trying to think of an example if somebody has forgotten that when they were at school, they were actually quite good at art, or good at drawing. And when you get on with the business of life, and the only painting in your milieu is when you have to stick a lick of paint on a wall to actually sit down with some of these paints and a bit of paper and while away two or three hours or get frustrated with a piece of canvas. Iif you did that sort of thing, theyd think youre doo-lally. (Retired, ABC1, High engaged, Urban) The cost of equipment, musical instruments, tuition and studio hire were mentioned as obstacles to participation by some of the family and younger respondents. Just as some of those who are engaged with the arts would like to be able to attend more events with their family, they would often like easier access to tuition and instruments. They can also see that if they, who are
relatively affluent, are struggling to manage, then someone who is less welloff may not get off the starting blocks At the moment one of my sons plays violin and I am really struggling to pay for the lessons and to hire the violin If they are your child and they are desperate to learn to play the violin and I am scraping around trying to find things in the charity shops and things like that to try and find a way in for him But it is still something that you do and it is still something that you prioritise, but if it really is that bad that you cant afford to buy a pint of milk or a loaf of bread, you wouldnt even be thinking about violin lessons, would you? Your child may have a talent for it. I dont think it is accessible to all. (Family, ABC1, Medium engaged, Suburban) In school now, if your son or daughter wants an instrument Wants to learn an instrument, you have to pay You have to pay. I mean its about 12 a lesson or something, so, its expensive. (Family, C2DE, Medium engaged, Urban) There was some evidence that the sorts of classes that some respondents wanted to participate in were not always available; this might because of high demand brought about by sudden popularity of an art form (e.g. salsa). In one case, art and craft leisure classes had been lost and the classes now were focused on achievement of an NVQ I think certain things are becoming more restrictive, because there used to be these leisure classes in Leeds where you could go and, you know, do a bit of jewellery, a bit of painting and whatever. And unless youre going for an NVQ or something now, you cant go. Its just been chopped off, so that a hobby pursuit, a leisure pursuit, that all seems to me to have ceased. I dont want to go to learn to make jewellery to get an NVQ, thank you very much. (Retired, ABC1, High engaged, Urban) I was down at Kingsbridge in Devon last Saturday at a Christmas carnival and there was a samba type band, just hitting instruments, totally enthralling, unbelievable and we all wanted to have one of these drums, enjoy it and march and blow whistles and there was actually a sign saying, we are fully booked, do not ask to join this club. (Post-family, ABC1, High engaged, Suburban)
Finding out about classes was an issue; again, there was a feeling that if you were really keen, you would make the effort to find out but given low levels of confidence, there was a need to reach out to people and encourage them to give the art form a try How often do you get people round town asking kids if they would like to go to the theatre down the road and audition or practise acting or something like that? You never hear of it. ((Dependent single, C2DE, Low engaged, Suburban)) Some very specific suggestions were made for ways that might encourage higher levels of participation less costly performing arts groups (cf. Stagecoach) music studios with free access (seen on Children in Need?) lower cost access to music tutors (especially for one to one tuition) free access, perhaps through a youth centre, for drama, music, dance more opportunities for people coming out of college or trying to establish themselves to show their work I suppose there are so many art schools about and theatre classes and so on and so forth and these people, obviously they need to be seen because that is what they live for, isnt it, to be seen, but yet they probably dont put on enough exhibitions for up and coming talent. So we can just go and watch them for nothing and give them the recognition and the confidence they need as well. (Prefamily, ABC1, Medium engaged, Suburban) You can have like a hall somewhere where amateur artists could come and show their work because that way, theyre going to be noticed and then they can start becoming more successful and things Or anyone could because its like their space, like a communal space. (Dependent singles, C2DE, Medium engaged, Rural)
5
5.1
Benefits of the Arts

Introduction The question of the benefits afforded by the arts arose at different points in the discussion; participants were asked directly about their own feelings about the arts and what, if anything, they got from them; groups were asked to imagine a world without the arts and conversely an arts-filled world; they were asked about the role that the arts play in different contexts (from the very local to internationally) and they were asked directly about the benefits they saw coming from the arts. In the event that people found it difficult to identify benefits, a list of possible benefits was drawn up for use as stimulus in some of the discussions.
5.2
Are the Arts Beneficial? All groups, regardless of current level of engagement, identified a broad range of benefits for the arts. In many groups a long list of benefits was put forward quite spontaneously. In others, generally with the low engaged, the list might be much shorter but when shown the list of benefits, they agreed with most of the points they had not mentioned. They might not feel that those benefits were very relevant to themselves, but they recognised that others might derive them. If their lack of engagement was in part due to a lack of
opportunity to engage locally with the arts, then again, they might concede that others with greater opportunity could derive more. The imagining of a world without the arts provided a vivid illustration of the realisation that the arts (here defined by groups as a collection of all the forms of art they had previously discussed) were integral to their lives. While some of the low engaged admitted that they would be happy to lose certain art forms, if it meant that all the things they had preferred to call entertainment were removed, this would be highly undesirable
It wouldn't bother me as much living without art galleries but things like music and films and things like that, I would still quite like to have them because its entertainment as well, isn't it? (Pre-family, ABC1, Low engaged, Rural) A picture was painted of a world that was boring and bland, dark and sad, devoid of individuality, isolated and potentially more crime-ridden because there were no outlets for expression. Analogies were drawn with totalitarian states, a post-nuclear age, pre-historic times and (for a couple of A level English students) a totally rational, work-oriented world exemplified by the Dickens character, Thomas Gradgrind And what it was, like, the dad was trying to, he had facts in his kids lives and in the end he ended up ruining their lives because they had absolutely no imaginations, they actually couldnt feel, they didnt have feelings because they didnt know what they were, kind of thing And they ended up corrupting everything, thats what it would be like, without art, I suppose. (Dependent singles, ABC1, Medium engaged, Suburban) This state of affairs was however, seen as implausible. If, as some had
argued, art is inherent to mans make-up, then it has always existed (as shown by cave paintings and artefacts) and always will because man will inevitably find a way of expressing himself Somebody will actually have some way of sharing some of their internal world, whether or not it be through singing, storytelling, being creative in making pots. It is almost an impossibility, you could not have a world without any form of art in it. (Retired, ABC1, Medium engaged, Rural) In addition, if art can be defined so broadly, then it would be very difficult to imagine losing everything that has been touched by art as this would include everything that forms part of the designed environment. On the same basis that art is all around us, it was often difficult for participants to imagine an arts-filled world as being very different from what already exists. They could however see that it would be possible for more people to engage in some way with the arts and this was viewed positively. Some of
the benefits that might ensue would be the discovery of new talent, a potential increase in productivity and a healthier society We could all be happy because we could express ourselves and people who dont think theyd be good at any of the arts might learn that they are actually good at them and be able to express themselves. (Dependent Single, ABC1, High engaged, Suburban) I just think it would give people a little bit more imagination, a little bit more to think about day to day instead of what they think of every day about getting up, having a wash, having breakfast, going to work, coming back, switching the TV on, drinking a bottle of wine and going to bed. (Pre-family, C2DE, Low engaged, Urban) The option to create yet more art (rather than more people taking advantage of what was already there) was not always viewed positively. The point was made that if people ignore or reject the arts that are already on offer, then how will having more help? They might be even more inclined simply to ignore what was available because they would habituate to it I dont know. I suppose it would stop becoming art wouldnt it, because it would be an everyday occurrence People would take it for granted, wouldnt you? (Family, C2DE, Medium engaged, Urban) Some of those who were more highly engaged with the arts were also concerned that more arts might mean more populist, dumbed down arts or that conceptual art might come to the fore even more I think there is room for more art as long as it goes in the right direction. Im very, like I say, it seems that they are pushing it to silly extremes. Its like the bed making, do you know what I mean? I think sometimes you can bring too much, you can push something in completely the wrong direction. (Pre-family, ABC1, Medium engaged, Suburban) Some of the low engaged argued that in extreme conditions, if everyone chose to indulge in the arts, then productivity might decline or if people could express themselves, then perhaps they might show their bad sides or create things that had negative repercussions. The potential for sensory overload was another possible downside.
5.3
What are the Benefits? Not surprisingly, the benefits that participants were more likely to mention spontaneously were those that they personally experienced or identified in their immediate environment; hence the benefits of entertainment and pleasure, personal enrichment, the opportunity for expression and
communication, a sense of identity and an enhancement of physical and mental health were to the fore. The economic benefits that followed from an active arts scene were not top of mind until respondents were asked to think more widely, whereupon they identified various benefits that had resulted from specific local, regional and national events. Political benefits were even less in evidence unless they referred to arts events as opportunities for bringing people together and experiencing each others cultures. There was a sense, particularly but not exclusively, among the younger participants, that the arts should not be about making money; if something was commercially successful (such as pop music or high priced pieces of contemporary art) then its real value as a piece of art was somehow diminished.
5.3.1
The arts can provide entertainment and pleasure This was a universally recognised benefit of the arts and for many of those who were low engaged, this was what they primarily wanted from the arts (although they did not expect the arts as they currently defined them to deliver this). Many respondents spoke of deriving great pleasure from
watching different art forms And I can sort of go to the theatre and watch a nice play and that was nice and I feel happy with life. And you come out and you say, Well that was a nice evening. So you feel I think its
a warm glow around you, and you feel as though youve enjoyed your evening. (Post-family, C2DE, High engaged, Rural) If Ive been playing my guitar or whatever, or Ive been to a concert or whatever, you know, that really gives me pleasure. (Post-family, C2DE, High engaged, Rural) A very few spoke of the excitement of participating in the arts and experiencing the appreciation of an audience. Some could anticipate the pleasure that successful performers must derive from this and expressed some envy of it If you're an artist and you produce a bit of work that someone says wow, that is absolutely amazing, I could only imagine the feeling that these people would get, if you're a great singer, a great musician. Youve entertained people, you get people away from their worried heads for a little while, it must be an amazing feeling. (Family, C2DE, High engaged, Urban) All we do is we like making music and we sing it and it gives us pleasure and it gives other people pleasure I think, yes it does, because they keep coming. (Choir) In some of the groups, participants produced sketches to express something of how they felt about the arts. Some of these captured the pleasure and excitement that they derived from them "It is supposed to be like a fireworks display just because it gives me a buzz generally. It is fun, it's bright and it makes me smile." (Post-family, ABC1, High engaged, Suburban)
"I love to paint and then do, like, drawing classes of naked people. I love to go to gigs and listen to musicall different kinds of music, I like some classical music as well, and making clothes and designing things." (Dependent single, ABC1, High engaged, Suburban)
5.3.2
The arts enrich peoples lives A feeling that the arts bring colour to peoples lives and an escape from their everyday existence was a very strong theme in the discussions with those who were engaged with the arts. sketches also This was expressed in some of their
"It's meant to depict a scenery of mountains and grass, blue sky and a sun, the arts to me means something that takes you out of yourself as if you're going out into the countryside, seeing something of beauty, the arts add that dimension to life." (Retired, C2DE, Medium engaged, Urban)
"I have put 'work' on one side and then there's a wall and then there's the arts, some of them, on the other. That is how I view the arts, it is separate from work which I get enough of anyway." (Post-family, ABC1, High engaged, Suburban)
People spoke of the arts providing food for the spirit or taking them out of themselves and putting them in touch with more positive feelings. This might be as active or passive spectators of an art form or as a participant. Words such as uplifting and inspiring were mentioned in several discussions I think when youve been to see something you enjoy, its a really uplifting experience, it makes you feel really good about everything, about the world for a few hours until you slip back into reality! (Retired, C2DE, Medium engaged, Urban) Relaxation, enjoyment, inspiration, all them things, if you didnt have that access to art, youd do a full days work, you'd go and get pissed and you'd go home and go to bed. (Family, C2DE, High engaged, Urban) A facility for creating, a facility for solace, a facility for happiness, sadness, a channel for lots of those feelings. And a big challenge for doing, participating even if youre just listening. (Retired, ABC1, High engaged, Urban) More generally, the arts were seen as providing an antidote to peoples workaday lives, the consumer society in which we live and the misery that many have to endure Children are wrapped up in consumerism and blinded by advertising about buying this and having that and being that. I think it does enrich their lives and I think it gives them a much more thought provoking aspirational life. (Family, ABC1, Medium engaged, Suburban) It makes you realise why you want to introduce art to your children. I just think it's so important they have access to these things and they dont just go down this very straight, blinkered channel. That they realise there is a lot out there enriching life, you know, giving them Yes, thats a very good word for art actually, it enriches lives, in so many ways. (Crafts Club) It takes people out of the mundane of their everyday lives I think. (Retired, ABC1, Medium engaged, Rural) Something that takes you away from everyday life, trying to make money and greed and all the other things, its just
something for yourself that day. (Family, C2DE, High engaged, Urban) This aspect of having time for oneself, becoming absorbed in an activity and cutting oneself off from more negative thoughts was viewed as important Yeah, if Im doing something basically its just to do something to forget what else is on my mind so if I paint or if I draw something or do something on the computer or like try and play an instrument Right, so it totally takes you out of yourself? Yeah, just dont have to worry about anything else because youre totally focused on getting whatever youre doing right. (Dependent single, C2DE, Medium engaged, Rural) Whether it is when the lights go down or whether you are looking at a painting or whatever, suddenly it is just you and that thing. (Family, ABC1, Medium engaged, Suburban)
5.3.3
The arts provide an opportunity to express oneself and communicate with others The opportunity for social discourse offered by the arts was seen as an essential characteristic and benefit; many spoke of attending performances or events with other people and of deriving great pleasure from the social experience of which the performance was perhaps only part. While one might be totally absorbed in the performance or a painting as an individual, discussion of what one has seen or heard with others was an important accompaniment And I enjoy art that I can share with somebody. So whether Im going to the theatre, opera, visiting an art gallery, I think its nice to get somebody elses view of it as well. And it makes you appreciate it far more. (Post-family, C2DE, High engaged, Rural) It is a social thing. Most of the things to do with the arts are an opportunity to meet people, friends, family or something like that, and that is how it makes you feel. You come out and you have enjoyed something together. (Post-family, ABC1, High engaged, Suburban)
My work is stressful so therefore this is stress free. I like new experiences, I like to go to different types of things, concerts and things like that and it gives me more conversation and things like that, its nice to talk to other people who go to the things about them. (Pre-family, ABC1, Medium engaged, Suburban) The sharing of an experience with others and at times, feeling at one with them was a bonus. This might be when one was performing with others or as part of an audience It is like going to a football match as well, you know, on Saturday, the Bristol Choral Society doing, Haydns Harmoniemesse and it just peaks and then it is just like scoring a goal. I mean theres just, how often do you get that feeling where you just get this big rush? It is just like somebody has poured hot water all over you. And I am sure if you are singing in the choir, you know when it is just, its just that moment when everything is right. (Post-family, ABC1, High engaged, Suburban) The sense of oneness with other people whom you may not even know through a shared experience or taste was much in evidence I went to a festival and it was mad and there was no police or no security around or anything like that but everyone gets on because theyre all there for the same thing, the music, which is cool. (Dependent single, C2DE, Medium engaged, Rural) I think when youve been to something, you also feel that youre communicating with everybody else thats been there, youre part and parcel with them, its cohesive again, isnt it? (Retired, C2DE, Medium engaged, Urban) Also the social aspect of it, if youre into something, you meet other people with a like mind, youve got a bond straightaway, if I like a certain band and Im talking to someone and they say theyre a great band, straightaway I feel I like this person, so you get that kind of connection. (Family, C2DE, High engaged, Urban) I think, I just like to have a jolly good time, and we do it through the medium in this context anyway, of singing. And if you cant find some warmth and worth in other peoples company that you like and they seem to like you then you can do it through this process in one instance any way, of making music together I am not quite sure I want to be able to detach the social values from this other stuff, artistic values and merit. (Choir)
5.3.4
The arts can give individuals and communities a sense of identity An association with some form of the arts was seen as a very positive thing at both the individual and community level. In both cases, it could give rise to increased self-confidence or self-esteem. At the community level, cities such as Leeds (Piano Festival, high level of council support for the Arts), Manchester (active cultural scene) and Newcastle (Angel of the North, Tyneside developments) were applauded for their involvement with the arts and the marked effect this had had on their reputation and fortunes If you talk about Newcastle, everybody pictures The Angel of the North. (Dependent single, ABC1, High engaged, Suburban) I used to do student admissions at one time. We used to get students crying on the phone because they wanted to come to Manchester as opposed to somewhere like Preston, and it wasnt because of the academic environment, it was because of the clubs, the shops and the arts... Manchester has always been a popular place for students because of the culture. (Postfamily, ABC1, Medium engaged, Suburban) At the personal level, people (often young people) felt that involvement with the arts had helped them develop as individuals and made them feel good about themselves In general, I just say development. I think art, music, whatever people are into, helps them to develop themselves and find themselves. (Dependent single, C2DE, Medium engaged, Rural) Personal development when you get involved in something, whether it is active or not. (Post-family, ABC1, Medium engaged, Suburban) Ive only been to the theatre once but I like galleries and that, it gives me a good vibe about myself and it makes me feel chilled and relaxed. (Pre-family, ABC1, Medium engaged, Suburban) Others acknowledged that people who stood out as having talent were often admired
If you play an instrument, if you are an artist, or a dancer, or sculptor or whatever, you gravitate towards the centre of things, whereas if youve not got artistic tendencies perhaps you might be on the edge of things a bit more. (Family, ABC1, Low Engaged, Rural) It is amazing for self esteem though, isnt it? If one can become good at something, how it transforms you, and that could be linked to sport or playing a musical instrument, because you have a strength and quite often people sort of put themselves down and get defensive about what qualities they might have, but when you have that ability and know that it is appreciated by people, then to me thats, because that brings confidence and that affects you for the rest of your life. (Post-family, ABC1, High engaged, Suburban) Some of the Actively Involved made the point that they tried to produce work of a high standard; working towards and achieving this goal gave participants a great sense of achievement and was immensely rewarding for them personally It does give you a sense of achievement and a really strong bond with people that really put their all into it and the shows that we produce are really very good quality. I mean, that gives you a tremendous amount of feeling of pride and its ever so good for children because they just get so much confidence from it. (AmDram) You're not setting out to be National Youth Theatre, but its got a lot of the same, its about confidence, self esteem, working with different peer groups. Weve got kids from 26 different local schools and theres a huge diversity around here, a lot of them are playing with different friends from the friends theyve been with during the week, and developing skills they wouldnt get the chance to develop elsewhere and also, in the afternoon, well circus skills, things like unicycling, those can be challenging and the kids get certificates if they, as they go through various grades. (Community Arts Centre)
5.3.5
The arts can improve mental and physical health The importance of the arts in developing more rounded and balanced individuals and communities was a theme that ran through much of the discussion at least among those who were engaged with the arts. A number of respondents touched on how their involvement or the involvement of those
close to them had kept them sane. This might be because it gave them a sense of purpose and self-worth or it gave more of a focus to their lives. It might enable them to build bonds with other people or provide an outlet for their emotions and frustrations My mum, when she wasnt feeling too good, shed write poetry. It might have been dark but it was her way of expressing things. (Family, C2DE, High engaged, Urban) My husband says when Im getting rattled, he used to say to the kids when they were younger, I think your mother need to go and fondle some fabrics! (Post-family, C2DE, High engaged, Rural) Its going to sound really weird but its like you can forget everything and its like you can be really aggressive and just like take out your anger and stuff like that. I forget about everything when I play the drums. (Dependent single, C2DE, Medium engaged, Rural) Among the engaged respondents, there was a feeling that bringing the arts into more peoples lives could result in healthier individuals and a healthier society It enriches peoples lives. It lifts people and makes them more productive in other ways if they are feeling that there is something to aspire to I think some of the terrible things that we hear and see and read about in society, it is almost animalistic and the opposite of what we would regard as human. Art is all about humanity, I think. If you expose people to art, they are less likely to be drawn into the base things that people do. (Family, ABC1, Medium engaged, Suburban) It takes people to somewhere else you know they could be having a dreadful time at home or bored and it just takes them to new places, or opens their minds because they can hear a different type of music or try different food or learn something about their own culture or somebody elses. Then if theres an event going on whether its free or youve got to pay for it, its something for people to look forward to, or even to strive to. (Pre-family, ABC1, Medium engaged, Suburban) If people have got the freedom to express themselves in art, it is a more healthy society, it is more pleasant to live. (Postfamily, ABC1, Medium engaged, Suburban)
You cannot do without art. Art embellishes your eating and drinking and drudging and pain and in a way can help give you hope for life, life is worth living. (Choir)
5.3.6
The arts encourage people to think about the world in different ways and help us understand what life is like for other people and cultures The ability of the arts to open peoples eyes to the situation of others or think about the world in new ways, was mentioned on a few occasions but was not central to peoples thinking. Some talked about opportunities to sample other peoples cultures through different art forms while on holiday overseas or at festivals but there was little sense of people seeing the arts as having a political purpose And the Arts can encourage people to think about the world in different ways. I went to a carnival thing about three years ago. It was Afro-Caribbean, you know, and they had the chicken and the food and the dancing and music. And a bit of the drums, and the colours, the dresses they were wearing, different coloured costumes or whatever it is. And it just opens your eyes to see their world, you know, their ways. (Family, C2DE, Medium engaged, Urban) One respondent, herself an outreach worker for excluded people, spoke of the arts challenging peoples views and her own experience of this It also makes you relate things either to your life or where you want to be in the future or what you can provide. I think you always come away from a concert or a play or an exhibition feeling you either need to put something right or make a change. (Pre-family, ABC1, Medium engaged, Suburban)
5.3.7
The arts can help build a more cohesive society There was some awareness, particularly in more ethnically diverse locations, that people were being more exposed to each others cultures through the arts and this was a positive move. It led to a greater appreciation of what they had to offer and provided opportunities for people of different backgrounds to come together in a shared experience
It can also bring people together, different age groups, cultures. (Family, C2DE, High engaged, Urban) The benefits are multiculturalism because a lot of people from different cultures will go. They have a small festival at Christmas, a relative of mine happens to organise it but you do get a lot of different cultures down there, it does bring people together. (Retired, C2DE, Medium engaged, Urban) Of course, the West Midlands is multicultural. So now you have all sorts of different cultures with their acts and arts coming round the rest of the region and so people get more interested in that. (Post-family, C2DE, High engaged, Rural)
5.3.8
The arts make it a more interesting and pleasant place to live The groups talked readily about their views on the quality of their local arts scene. While some towns appeared to be cultural deserts or at least arid landscapes, others offered occasional oases and yet others were fertile ground for the arts. We were very conscious that given their lifestages, a town that might be seen as devoid of the arts by one group, might be vibrant for another. Certainly many of the younger participants cast envious glances towards cities such as London and Manchester which they saw as buzzing and while this might be expected in the smaller towns, this also applied to those living in the suburbs of Birmingham. Those who lived in cities which they considered to offer a great deal thought themselves fortunate. Several, including some of the Actively Involved, spoke of the arts creating a sense of community in their local area through annual festivals or projects that seemed to be highly valued. These gave ordinary people the opportunity to become involved in a form of the arts which they hitherto would not have seen as being art A sense of community and involvement, definitely that, and sort of working together as a village doing something I personally hope that some of the really nice things that we bring to the festival, people actually enjoy then and encourage them to go onwards and outwards and find out more about the arts. (Rural arts festival)
It [Furzedown Arts Festival] isn't vast, is it? It brings everybody together but it's quite, you know it gives that sense of community and belonging. (Crafts club) Its achievement, its belonging and its definitely made it into their park, the whole place is totally fantastic compared to what it used to be. (Mosaic project)
5.3.9
The arts help people become smarter and more creative and motivate students in school to help them learn Enhancing creativity and the use of imagination through interaction with the arts was readily accepted. The organisers of the dance and drama group pointed out that the children with whom they worked (mainly African and Caribbean) learned a great deal from the projects and the research and development that went into them It is good because you move away from that academic way of reaching kids - and poetry, using the arts, the creative, the dance, the poetry, all teaching methods in a fun way. (Dance and drama group) However, while a number of respondents volunteered that they and their children learned a lot through interaction with the arts, they tended to baulk at the idea of the arts necessarily making people smarter. The low engaged were also resistant to this idea. Perhaps smarter suggested that the arts would increase peoples IQ rather than simply making them the more rounded individuals that people assumed I think were learning, you know, looking at art, youre always learning stuff, from a picture, a painting, listening to music. (Family, C2DE, Medium engaged, Urban) I think I would say educational, especially with your children, you feel like you can educate your kids because you can go to these places. (Family, C2DE, High engaged, Urban) Because I think it is a learning thing where you can watch a film, watch something on television, then you are kind of like boosting knowledge, but also I see this being like pushing children and helping them just by exposing them to different experiences whether it be a design museum, an art gallery or
something like that. I just feel that they are being boosted. (Family, ABC1, Medium engaged, Suburban) Similarly, the idea that the arts could help school students learn was not a natural one. There was a broad appreciation that children and young people enjoyed the arts and that different, more fun methods of teaching were used in schools to motivate and help students, but the connection was not generally made that the arts were helping with the learning process. Certainly, as noted above, it was commonly felt that children should be introduced to the arts at a very young age and their participation should be encouraged to ensure continued engagement with the arts as adults. Moreover, schools offered a natural context in which this exposure could take place.
5.3.10
The arts can attract tourism, create business and contribute to a healthy economy While not top of mind when asked about the benefits offered by the arts, once participants were asked to think about the role that the arts played locally, regionally and nationally, their association with tourism, employment and economic benefits was articulated. Significant events such as concerts
headed up by major artists (commercial and charitable events like Live Aid) were known to pull in audiences and therefore money from far and wide. The UK was seen as having a reputation for particular strengths in the arts acting and technical skills such as special FX were cited and these were seen as attracting inward investment Brings in money from outside the UK if youve got like British music, British film, stuff like that. Like, the arts industry is good for the country. (Dependent single, ABC1, High engaged, Suburban)
5.3.11
The arts can be a source of national pride Some commented that being associated with success in a particular art form could enhance ones national identity and give a sense of pride although a
few were unsure whether this might work against cohesion because it encouraged nationalism I am not sure about great national pride really. Showing people how to be nationalistic. I am not sure about that I dont think we would have a National Gallery if people didnt think it was a pride thing. It is the National Museum And we have the Merseyside Museums and Galleries. That is a source of pride for all of us. (Post-family, ABC1, Medium engaged, Suburban) Royal events, events such as the Proms, various touring companies and exhibitions were mentioned as ambassadors for the UK.
5.3.12
The value of the arts on the international stage The role played by the arts internationally was explored in a task looking at the role of the arts locally, nationally and internationally. The benefits that the arts offered at this level were seen primarily as increasing understanding of different cultures and fostering greater harmony. This was achieved through travel overseas (when many felt they were most receptive to sampling other cultures), attendance at UK performances of overseas companies (circus, ballet) and use of the internet.
5.4
Benefits of the Arts for the Actively Involved Those who were more actively involved with the arts described many of the same benefits as the general public. We focused on what they personally derived from their involvement as well as what others (participants and audiences) got out of it. They talked at some length and with great conviction though some were rather diffident about their own role. For themselves, it was the sheer enjoyment and pleasure of their participation in terms both of taking part in an activity and organising that activity so that
others could also enjoy taking part and watching. satisfaction and a sense of achievement from doing this.
They derived great
For some it seemed to form an important part of their social life and indeed, in the case of the choir and crafts club, great store was placed on the social composition of their small group they were people who enjoyed each others company. For others with more time on their hands, their involvement gave them the opportunity to be engaged with something that they found fulfilling and some had been able to develop their own skills and knowledge. Those who were involved in organising arts activities for children and young people, were very conscious of the change that had been brought about in their students. Not only had they progressed and developed their skills in drama, dance, circus, arts and crafts, but they had also developed their life skills in terms of confidence, self-esteem, self-discipline and social skills. Parents were often surprised to witness the blossoming of their offspring and were delighted to see them engaged in productive and life-enhancing activities. Shared experiences could help bring communities together and improve the confidence of a neighbourhood.
Public Funding of the Arts and the Role of the Arts Council
Introduction This section covers what the respondents already knew about the Arts Council when they came along to the discussions and their response to being told something about it. We also look at their perceptions of how the arts are funded in the UK and again, their response to being told something of how public money is distributed by the Arts Council. We include the experience and views of the Actively Involved with respect to funding of their activities.
6.1
6.2
Awareness and Expectations of the Arts Council Most of those who were engaged with the arts claimed to have heard something about the Arts Council although most confessed that they knew nothing or very little about it. A number had a more detailed picture based on media coverage, the association of the Arts Council with specific companies, events or TV programmes, or from some experience (their own or someone they knew) of applying for funding from the Arts Council or being invited as a student to take part in Arts Council funded projects in schools. Suggestions for what the Arts Council does therefore ranged from the rather vague to the very specific.
6.2.1
The Role of the Arts Council A number of strands were suggested: the Arts Council supports the arts this may be through funding but it may also be through providing advice and assistance it promotes the arts and encourages wider participation
Theyve got to promote highbrow arts and they've got to make arts accessible. (Pre-family, ABC1, Low engaged, Rural) I could see them as sort of being trying to get more people in the community who dont understand about art. So, you know, they have got that power, they do like paintings and stuff like that, but they also are trying to get more people in from different communities and different backgrounds, who are not into art, because of like, places that I go to with the kids, has got a lot sponsored by the Arts Council. (Family, C2DE, Medium engaged, Urban) it commissions art it makes decisions concerning the arts - comparison with a governing body for the arts was made Is it like a governing body or something i.e. youve got FIFA for football and athletics and youve got this one, is it the governing body of the arts? (Pre-family, C2DE, High engaged, Rural) an arbiter of taste or trends, deciding what is art and what is not or what goes into exhibitions I imagine that [the Arts Council] being a board room of important people in the arts, from all over the country and they make decisions about it (Family, C2DE, High engaged, Urban) They kind of set the trend basically for the arts. (Prefamily, ABC1, Medium engaged, Suburban) In a couple of groups, this seemed to stem from some confusion with the Arts Council and the award of the Turner Prize. The assumed connection with conceptual art was unwelcome for some, particularly a number of lower engaged And something like the unmade bed, whether the Arts Council should encourage things such as the half a cow its exhibited. I really cant see why the Arts Council want to encourage this kind of, you know, pile of bricks! (Retired, C2DE, Medium engaged, Urban) I dont know how many times Ive laid a load of bricks for my dad and put them into piles and they put that in the art gallery,
take that one brick out, thats art, theres 200,000. Thats silly and to me. Thats all the Art Council are there for. Its not run by the people for the people. (Retired, C2DE, Low engaged, Urban)
6.2.2
Type of people involved in the Arts Council Some pointed out that the term, council, suggested a body of people who make decisions and this led to speculation about who might sit on this and how they might be elected or selected (the assumption was that an inner circle might be involved). Various sorts of people were put forward as possible contributors including; politicians, civil servants, academics, artists, advisors and eccentric people. One group suggested there should be a combination of experts in different art forms, big hitters who could stand up to politicians, as well as ordinary people I would want them to be highly involved in various forms of art from classical art to, freestyle, dancing in the street I think you have got to have heavy hitters, you know, when they are dealing with something like the arts, because it is such a fragile thing. So many Governments can hit budgets. (PostFamily, ABC1, High Engaged, Suburban) The view that ordinary people could be involved arose at this early stage in several groups. Their involvement was seen as important if the appeal of the arts is to be widened since the assumption was that the current Council was not in touch with all sectors of society I would hope thered be people from the general public, the thought of it being, say, like art critics for instanceI wouldnt like the sound of it. (Family, C2DE, High engaged, Urban) The scary thing is, if at the moment the arts are appealing to a certain sort of people and they are employing the same type of people to represent the general public, then it is never going to filter down to ground level. That is my perception of it. (Postfamily, ABC1, High engaged, Suburban)
It depends who is on the Arts Council. At the moment I have a feeling that the Arts Council is a more cliquey, top of the range type of person. Maybe it does need to have basic people from the community on there giving ideas about what they think and where they think things should go. (Mosaic project) Where a link to the Government was known or suspected, this prompted some negative associations with misspending and bureaucracy amongst sceptical respondents.
6.2.3
What it funds There was a broad perception that the Arts Council focused primarily on what were sometimes called the conventional or traditional arts although the more informed spoke of grants to up and coming groups, exhibitions and projects My feeling is that it tends to be the conventional arts so they would fund ballet, opera, concerts and possibly a photographic exhibition but it wouldnt be sport and that kind of thing. It is definitely the safe you know, clearly the arts basically. (Family, ABC1, Medium engaged, Suburban) Dont they fund the Royal Ballet and the orchestras and those types of classic middle class stereotypical art, as well as small individual one-off projects? (Post-family, ABC1, High engaged, Suburban) Certainly, there was a view that the larger companies with a louder voice probably managed to corner much of the Arts Council budget This is where its the top ones that are probably over funded and the lower ones that are under funded. (Post-family, C2DE, Low engaged, Suburban) But the ones where Ive heard about them, it's all been large big projects. I haven't heard of them sponsoring or giving money to smaller more community projects. But whether thats their job, whether thats, I dont know whether thats one of their criteria, is to fund these larger more international or national projects, and leave the smaller funding to local councils. (Craft club)
A few voiced the suspicion that the Council might be elitist in terms of who it supported, possibly favouring certain types of people (i.e. jobs for the boys?) or supporting projects that were irrelevant to most ordinary people and therefore, as they saw them, a waste of money Ive downloaded the people they gave money to and then I just got fed up with it cos I thought everybody there just seems to know somebody, it all seems to be very incestuous to me. (Dance and drama group) You know that kind of incestuous art world thing where everyone funds each other and they all know each other, you just feel its all quite cliquey. (Mosaic project) Well, they give people silly money for doing silly things thats all the Arts Council are there for. Its not run by the people for the people. (Retired, C2DE, Low engaged, Urban) I just had this feeling that it goes to some of the wackiest ideas and more to a cultural or small group - that the Arts Council would see it as being politically correct or a good way to go. (Family, ABC1, Medium engaged, Suburban) I think they might give too much money to things like sculptures and stuff and not enough to other things where people can get involved things like lessons and providing people who dont have access to it with access. (Dependent single, ABC1, High engaged, Suburban) A distinct bias was suspected in where the majority of the funds ended up the large cities and London especially, were thought likely to benefit most We only hear of, well to myself, it seems to me that we only hear of the Arts Council in London and London gets everything. (Retired, C2DE, Low engaged, Urban)
6.3
Response to Information about ACE An information sheet outlining some key facts about the Arts Council was shown or read to respondents (see below).
Arts Council Key Facts Purpose Established in 1946 by Royal Charter Its mission is to put the arts at the heart of national life and people at the heart of the arts Its priorities for 2006-08 are: o participation in the arts o the involvement of children and young people o the development of the creative economy (businesses and enterprises that are founded on individual creativity, skill and talent) o vibrant communities o internationalism o celebration of diversity How the Arts Council works It is a strategic body that sets the direction for the development of the arts in England It makes decisions on arts funding It provides information on and campaigns for the arts Structure of the Arts Council The Arts Council is funded by Government but is independent A national office and nine regional offices Governed by a national Council and nine regional Councils All grants decided at regional level.
Respondents were often reasonably positive about this.
A number
commented that they were pleased to find that the Arts Council has nine regional offices rather than being based solely in London (as some had suspected), and that decisions on grants were made at a regional level. This helped to reassure them that there is some input into decision making from people who are more familiar with each of the regions. Some were also pleased to see the list of objectives and priorities for 20062008
I think it is good that they have, like, aims from now to 2008, like involving children and young people is a really good idea. (Dependent single, ABC1, Medium engaged, Suburban) Sounds really good what theyre prioritising in the next few years. (Family, C2DE, High engaged, Urban) There was some welcome for the independence of the Arts Council from Government because they should have the necessary expert knowledge to perform their role About it (ACE) being independent, I think it is better because the Government wont really know where it is going to go, whereas leaving it to the Arts Council, they will know better so I think it is goodthey know all about the arts. (Dependent single, ABC1, Medium engaged, Suburban) However, a number of others were quick to air concerns as to what would be funded, how decisions would be reached, and who would be making them. Although the list of types of organisations funded by the Arts Council reassured some on the diversity of those receiving support, respondents continued to remain uncertain about exactly what types of project were funded and some remained sceptical as to how appropriate these might be. With regard to decision making on funding, several voiced the opinion that it would be beneficial to somehow involve ordinary people in the process, as a way to help ensure that a more balanced approach is taken and also to provide an opportunity to tap into local knowledge. Some were also slightly taken back, given their limited knowledge about the Council, by the length of time the Arts Council had been in existence and that it had a Royal Charter. Indeed, a few more sceptical respondents felt this suggested that the Arts Council was not having a particularly big impact
I think it is almost a shame it has been going on since 1946 and I havent really heard of it is so it is obviously not coming towards me I certainly wouldnt have thought that it had been around for so long I thought it was a New Labour thing. (Family, C2DE, High engaged, Urban)
I dont see the Arts Council as like an active, face on type thing. To me, theyre there for support and to help people in the background. (Pre-family, C2DE, High engaged, Rural)
A few also pointed out that the Council should be more in evidence given its mission statement to put the arts at the heart of national life; the lives of ordinary people should be touched by its work Do we ever see anything of this happening? Its like the sports Council, you hear a lot about the Sports Council, but do you ever see it happening within your area? Is it a lot of talk or do you ever see anything put into practice? (Family, C2DE, Medium engaged, Urban) If you think about their mission, then thats where the money needs to be isnt it, not the sculptures, it needs to be with the ordinary person to get them involved. Whether it is getting them involved to do or to watch are two different things Yes. But maybe, I think my perception of the Arts Council is that they support professional groups and make it viable for more to continue. I dont know anything about the work that they may be doing with amateur groups to get people involved in the first place. (Post-family, ABC1, High engaged, Suburban) 6.4 Expectations of how the Arts are Funded Although most were not sure how the arts are funded, a number of suggestions for revenue sources were readily made, including via Government revenue/taxation the National Lottery charities and trusts sponsorship e.g. Sainsbury donations from wealthy individuals local authorities the EU or through ticket sales (and so may be self-funding).
Nobody felt equipped to comment about how well the arts are funded in England. Some wondered if they may be under-funded since they had heard of cuts among the larger companies and knew of examples locally. Others wondered if the arts were adequately funded as they felt there was already so much on offer. Others took a more balanced view and pointed out that some arts, in some areas, may be better funded than others (some felt they were especially underfunded in their area!) and a few aired the belief that too much might be spent on public art or on works of art for the nation They could have used that 20 million to go to the local communities, open like a centre or something like that for people to go and do arts and crafts and things like that. And youd get more out of it, instead of paying 20 million for the [Churchill] papers which nobody really is going to see. (Family, C2DE, Medium engaged, Urban) I think development of artists at a young age isnt funded enough and I think art thats already been out there and given its chance is over funded by people paying for exhibitions and things I think more money should be put towards giving like young people again, but young people who are like, like working class, more opportunities. (Dependent Single, C2DE, Medium engaged, Rural) A view was put forward that perhaps illuminates the feeling that was apparent during much of the discussion, that artists and the arts should not receive too much public funding. This was the idea that if organisations had all the money they felt they needed, they might become complacent or if there were so much art, the public would take it for granted. A feeling of scarcity kept the artists on their toes and the public wanting more! It also ensured that, to a degree, the art was not completely self-indulgent because public money was at stake. Where opinions were expressed about how the arts should be funded, this ranged from they should survive on their own account, to some subsidy being provided, to an acceptance of the need for public funding. As one might expect, the low engaged were often most cynical about taxes going to pay for the arts but it was often also appreciated that without public funding, entry to
the arts would be even more costly and would prevent even more people having access It is difficult because if you start charging high fees to get into see something then youre stopping the working classes going in so its making that big divide again, arent you? I dont quite know! (Post-family, C2DE, Low engaged, Suburban) 6.5 Response to Information about Public Funding of the Arts Respondents were shown the following information (see below) about how the Arts Council is funded and the funds that it has to allocate to the arts. Arts Council Funding Government Funding 410million was allocated to the Arts Council by central government in 2006/07 This costs each UK household 39p per week (the NHS costs each UK household 80 per week) Around 75% of government funding is distributed to around 1300 arts organisations across the country, such as the Royal Opera House, Merseyside Young Peoples Theatre, Yorkshire Sculpture Park, Milton Keynes Orchestra, Poetry Book Society, Northern Disability Arts Forum, Woking Dance Festival, Luton Carnival, Norwich Puppet Theatre, Bury St Edmunds Art Gallery The remainder goes on education programmes, audience development, marketing and administration National Lottery Funds The Arts Council decides how some National Lottery funds that have been allocated to the arts should be distributed 150million was allocated from the National Lottery to the arts in 2006/07 This is distributed through an open access grants programme to artists, arts organisations and community groups The chart below shows the proportion of National Lottery funds that is spent on each art form.
Lottery funds for the arts

General 3% Dance 10% Combined arts 15% Literature 1% Music 23%
Theatre/drama 26%
Visual arts 22%
The vast majority felt that it was appropriate, in principle, that the Government should provide some funding for the arts, given the broad range of benefits the arts can offer society. Respondents had very little idea of how much was allocated to the Council. A few guessed at what the budget might be prior to being shown the information and some estimates were as little as a few million. Despite this, once made aware that 410 million was allocated by the Government, most expected that this would be an appropriate amount although, of course, they found it hard to judge whether this would actually be the right amount to spend. A number pointed out that it would not be much compared to other areas of Government spending and some pointed out that maybe more should be put into the arts, given the huge expenditure in other areas They (the Government) can spend about 10bn on a war but we cant spend a reasonable price on something we all enjoy! (Retired, C2DE, Medium engaged, Urban) Furthermore, having considered the idea that this equates to about 39 pence per household each week (on average), most felt that this was a fair amount to pay especially when compared to the significantly higher 80 per week each household contributes to the NHS Id be quite happy to give 39p tax, its only 39p. (Dependent single, ABC1, High engaged, Suburban)
Im surprised at the small amount we contribute, 39p a week, its so little. (Retired, C2DE, Medium engaged, Urban) 410million into the arts, you think well that could be spent elsewhere, and then you see 39p per week compared to 80 for the NHS. Its not a lot. (Family, ABC1, Low engaged, Rural) I think the point we have already made is what the world would be like without art? I think 39p a week is quite reasonable. (Prefamily, C2DE, High engaged, Rural) Some painted a picture of what might happen if the funding for the arts was reduced or stopped the previous aired concern about the arts becoming increasingly commercial might well materialise And we talked about if we didnt have things, how bland life would be. If it was starved of cash, then it would go down that rocky road wouldnt it, where we would be devoid of it. We wouldnt be devoid of it, it would just be popular. Art would supply a demand because people would pay for it But then you would lose things, wouldnt you? The very popular things would stay, but the other things that perhaps some people like and others dont, would disappear, wouldnt they? (Post Family, ABC1, Medium Engaged, Suburban) However, a small minority, such as a few of those who were less engaged with the arts and from lower socio-economic grades, were less accepting that tax revenue was going towards the arts and expressed the view that this money would be better spent on more front line services for society (such as the NHS, fire service or even charities). A few were also surprised to find out that only 1300 arts organisations are currently funded, which led to the assumption that some would receive a large share of the pot. However, most were heartened at both the diversity of
organisations funded and the broad geographical spread. Funding from the National Lottery was also seen to be appropriate, ensuring that some of the revenue generated from the Lottery is put to good use. It was clear that for most, funding from both the Government and National Lottery seemed a good idea in principle but what would be essential, and determine their sense of achieving value from the money spent, was that the
significant total funds were put towards appropriate projects and organisations and for most, this meant projects that reached a broader mix of people You look at places where this funding is going and youre going to have people really into the arts who are gonna be running these places. I cant help but think that some of them may be a bit snobby seeing some nipper who loves the idea of dancing but he aint gonna get into the Royal Opera House, he aint going to get the chance. (Pre-family, C2DE, High engaged, Rural)
6.6
Experience of Applying for Funding Some of the Actively Involved did not feel that they or their group needed funding. This was those with few overheads and costs such as the aspiring actor and artist, the craft club, the choir and the creative writing group. These respondents were happy to rely on their own funds to finance their group or art, valuing the flexibility and control that this allowed them (that might otherwise be compromised if they received funds from external bodies). The chairman of the AmDram group that was currently self-funded through ticket sales and membership fees, felt that it would benefit from external funding but that this had not been forthcoming because it did not meet certain requirements. If they were to seek charitable status, then this would have an effect on how the group was run. Conversely, some Actively Involved, who were volunteers involved in groups or projects with higher running costs (the rural arts festival, the dance project, community arts centre and the mosaic project) relied heavily on funding from a wide range of sources. Much of this was for one-off projects rather than core funding and maintaining funding was a major headache that consumed a great deal of their time. They found it frustrating to find that they received funding one year but despite the success of a project, this had been denied the next; funding seemed to be available for unproven start-up projects but not for those with a track record who could use it to broaden the range of arts on offer or open them up to a wider audience.
Two of the four had considered requesting funds from the Arts Council but had not got very far, being deterred either by the complexity of the forms or the difficulty of communication with the local office. The message they had picked up was a lack of interest in their types of organisations An example of the inaccessibility and arrogance that comes across from the Arts Council for every single person you want to talk to, they switch through to voicemail I can only speak from my own experience of trying to get funding, there is this sort of arrogance the arts have to be flashy in flashy places. It has to be a big, high profile project rather than necessarily picking up on 1000 people who wouldn't normally have any contact with the arts, being exposed to all sorts of high quality arts stuff; that doesnt seem to be getting through. (Arts Festival) The difficulty of completing the forms was reinforced by a group member who had organised a Jewish Arts festival; he commented that he had found the forms very complicated I know about the Arts Council because I know weve applied for grants from the Arts Council for different things. And I must say, their application form is phenomenally complicated. Thats something else that they could think about, to make it a little easier for people, because although Im experienced in dealing with those sorts of things, even I found it difficult. (Retired, ABC1, High engaged, Urban) The community arts centre had assumed that they were too small and not a professional organisation and would therefore not qualify. Others assumed that certain requirements might be imposed on them if they did apply for or receive a grant, forcing them to make compromises or stick to a rigid programme I just find it time consuming and I just think you know, that Ill just do it on my bat because Ive been for some of these fundings and grants and its like, when you come out of the room you are like, I just want to make clothes. I cant be arsed standing on the street corner going, would you buy this, would you buy this? (Pre-family, ABC1, Medium engaged, Suburban) Interestingly, in one of the low engaged groups, having discussed the role of the Arts Council and the types of projects and organisations it might fund, one respondent felt that he might consider seeking funding from the Council for a
community centre where he lives. He had never considered this option before but by the end of the discussion was eager to find out if he could attain funds Im involved with the community action group in the neighbourhood. I will definitely start trying to try and get some money off the Arts Council to help me with a project close to my heart which is the community centre, which we havent got. (Retired, C2DE, Low engaged, Urban)
7
7.1
Priorities for Arts Council Funding

Introduction Everyone taking part in the research, in the group discussions and the interviews with the actively involved, were asked to put themselves in the positions of the decision makers at the Arts Council and to decide whether various projects and companies merited funding or not. They were asked to sort some twenty-three applications into fund, not fund and possibly fund piles, thinking as they did so, about the sort of criteria they were using to arrive at their decisions. The majority of the applications were based on
things that had received funding from the Arts Council across a variety of regions. They included national, regional and local companies and
organisations; a mix of art forms as well as arts administration and the building or refurbishment of premises; a range of audiences and participants. The task was carried out either individually or with one or two other people. While most, and particularly those engaged with the arts, were pleased at the outset to be given this task, they often found it very difficult in that they felt most applications satisfied some worthy criterion or other. A number would have liked to have had more information and time to make their decisions and to be able to assign different levels of funding. Interestingly, the low engaged were more decisive; they tended to support funding for fewer projects and to deny funding for many. In this section, we describe the criteria that respondents applied in their decision making both in terms of funding and not funding. We provide some examples of the projects that typify these criteria the full list is provided in the appendices. 7.2 Funding Criteria In selecting projects for funding, respondents seemed able to take a fairly detached view and consider projects in the round. They approached the task with a sense of the public good, tending to consider the benefits to others and
to wider society rather than their own personal preferences. Occasionally, they confessed to supporting projects for personal reasons such as the area that was being served seemed similar to their own arts-deprived area or a project touched on an art form in which they were particularly interested or the fact that a project was not London-based Where I live I would like to see something like the community centre built and get the young ones involved because weve got a lot of trouble with the young ones down there and its not their fault. (Retired, C2DE, Low engaged, Urban) Most respondents applied a clear and coherent set of criteria to funded projects based largely on their social value; they should deliver benefits to society, they should reach as wide and diverse an audience as possible, people should gain something positive from the experience and the benefits should last beyond the period of funding. Any application could satisfy one or more of these criteria and indeed, others A lot of the ones that we definitely funded are things that are definitely giving something back or beneficial or spreading, like for example, the ones that maybe help people with disabilities or provide a platform for young people to do something creative. (Family, C2DE, High engaged, Urban) However, while there was a bias towards more local projects, most respondents felt that a mix was required; small community projects and the ambitious, wide-reaching projects; projects aimed at increasing appreciation and those at encouraging participation; grassroots groups and national flagship companies. We expand upon the criteria below.
7.2.1
Delivering benefits to society Projects that described tangible benefits to those who became involved were very likely to be met with approval. These included: engaging children and young people the next generation
educating in the broadest sense such as passing on learning in workshops encouraging community cohesion or participation perhaps though experience of another culture e.g. Chinese arts centre or bringing people together generally Its a perception of social bonding I suppose. Its like I watched that Channel 5 Singing Estate thing it was quite interesting because they got a whole community of people who didnt have anything to do with. All kept themselves to themselves, didnt hardly mix at all, did they?... But they got them all doing it and mixed them all well, I thought that was quite good, that they had gone there and done it . (Pre-family, C2DE, High, Rural)
helping disadvantaged groups such as disabled people, poorer people or people from under-represented minority ethnic groups to raise their confidence levels Did you not see it? It was a TV series [Singing Estate again]. They gave them all parts to find out who were the best singers and it just changed their lives. I dont know whether it changed their lives long term, but it was brilliant to watch. (Family, ABC1, Medium engaged, Suburban) I loved that, because it is going to change so many peoples lives, genuinely and permanently. A lot of people have very very low self esteem and when they are very very good at something, and even when it was apparent at the beginning that they actually werent.. You know, they actually became a fantastic choir. I mean they held their own at the Albert Hall, generally there was no patronising going on there, they were a fantastic group and they came from the same estate. (Post-family, ABC1, High engaged, Suburban)
encouraging rehabilitation (of young people at risk, exconvicts, homeless people) with the aim of helping both the participants and the wider community And I just think that if you can change their life so that they perhaps dont go into crime, which is going to cost the country what was it they said the other day, 250 a night in a prison or something? And perhaps their lives might be altered. That would be a benefit. (Post-family, C2DE, High engaged, Rural)
helping regenerate an area e.g. Yorkshire Sculpture Park, Bristol Media Centre
7.2.2
Maximum reach Given that the funds come from public money, it was felt important that lots of people should be able to benefit from the projects and that all sorts of people should benefit What was deserving enough, what was the key phrase? If it is long enough and wide enough, it will do the job It has to have a broad scope, really a broad brush. We seemed to shy away from the individual stage. (Family, ABC1, Medium engaged, Suburban) This was not to say that every project had to be open to everyone, but that, across the projects, people should be able to access the things that interested them The main thing being that there couldnt be closed areas, it would be more open, thats the whole thing, and people would benefit as a result. (Retired, ABC1, High engaged, Urban) These groups are talking about the opportunities for mass participation that the Big Dance would give And we liked that because it was working with local communities and involving local people into the actual finished article and bringing people together, and everybody could get involved. So, for me, I think the funding should be fair more than anything. (Post-family, C2DE, High engaged, Rural) Because we thought again, it was kind of like a nationwide thing, covered by the BBC, a bit like The Big Draw. They would be dancing in the streets, in schools, fitness centres, art centres, art centres, parks, museums, theatres and shopping centres A wide audience, everyone is going to be exposed to it as opposed to like a niche the opportunity to get involved in something that they might not usually do, which is really the essence of what the Arts Council should be doing. (Family, ABC1, Medium engaged, Suburban)
Some of the more middle class respondents made the point that while it was important to ensure that new, more disadvantaged audiences gained access to the arts, Arts Council funded projects had to be available to everyone. There was also a frequent preference voiced to support arts projects in the UK rather than overseas although this was not universal.
7.2.3
Positive experience The expectation was that to gain the approval of a wide range of audiences (and presumably get them coming back for more), then the experience had to be an enjoyable one. It might challenge people, but should do so in an
accessible way so that people dont feel put off. The aim was to broaden interest in the arts You dont want it to be too safe, you want something that people can actually talk about and agree we like or we dont like it. (Retired, ABC1, Medium engaged, Rural) Other outcomes might be that it offers a means of improving peoples health (e.g. through stress reduction) or that it provides an experience that is simply memorable and uplifting. The example of the Fairytale Event involving the Sultans Elephant provides an interesting example of this. Those who simply read about it as part of the exercise were rather dismissive or even negative; those who had seen it on television or live, were bowled over It lifts something out of the ordinary. (Retired, ABC1, Medium engaged, Rural) It was such a feel good factor and everybody who went said they felt happy. There was no trouble And it was a great mixed audience. Everybody went, you know it wasnt, like you say, just certain middle class whatever, it was accessible to everybody I was crying, it was so moving. It was amazing. The girlshe had such a beautiful animated face and long eyelashes. It was just very stirring, it was lovely
there was a big burly guy and he was crying. It was just such a, you know, a very emotional moment and the music was fantastic as well, wasnt it? I downloaded some of the music. (Craft club)
7.2.4
Lasting benefits These could take several forms: a permanent work of art (rather than one that is on temporary loan or short-lived) that may become part of peoples lives How it can enrich the life beyond its own existence, if you know what I mean, become a useful part. (Mosaic project) a project involving a process that takes place over time rather than a one-off event Theyd be acting in it, and taking part in it afterwards as well, so theyll be from scratch, from researching to writing to production as to what should be in the play. So its worthwhile because obviously the whole community gets involved. (Family, C2DE, Medium engaged, Urban) sharing skills and knowledge with other practitioners who will be able to continue the work establishing ways of working that others can learn from e.g. advice and support for arts organisations, rural arts conference I just thought that was like working smarter, that sort of thing Something that can grow and will hopefully be self-funding instead of constantly throwing money at it not starting from scratch every time, but using existing skills. (Family, ABC1, Medium engaged, Suburban) You can use the lessons learnt there in other places. (Dependent Single, ABC1, High engaged, Suburban) a project that will become self-financing and is therefore sustainable, or even has the potential to become profitable (presumably so that the profits could be reinvested in the project)
It may also be the impact of the project that has a life

it provides an experience that people remember and recall fondly (as with the Sultans Elephant) it builds lasting knowledge and understanding it inspires people or changes perceptions (even lives).
The other principal criterion behind respondents selections was
7.2.5
Preservation of flagship companies and organisations In addition to unknown ventures, a number of the applications were for projects or companies that were recognised by the respondents. There was some surprise that certain of the high profile companies and galleries needed subsidising given their profile, quality and assumed support from their audiences. However, it was often accepted that if they did indeed need
support, then this should be offered, largely because they were an important part of Englands heritage and a source of pride. Several groups talked of supporting two strands; the grassroots initiatives and at the other end of the scale, the large companies that exemplify excellence We chose what we thought were benefiting the community and also benefiting excellence I think, you know, the closer to the grassroots you have got, I think the more likely you were to give them money And right at the other end, you have got the opera and ballet and I am afraid to say thats my position, you either fund it completely or you dont fund it at all, so I think we funded it. (Post-family, ABC1, High engaged, Suburban) It is part of our national pride, whether we go or we dont. One day we might dress up in bit of red velour and toddle off down there. (Pre-family, C2DE, Low engaged, Urban) Were a board at the end of the day so we have to make these decisions based not on personal preference, based on other things as well and we did slip a few in even though it wouldnt be our choice - we decided, it would be a good idea to keep that going. (Pre-family, C2DE, High engaged, Rural) The preferred aim of such support was to make them more sustainable, by helping them to get sorted financially or to help them build a lasting legacy.
But there was also a desire for them to be more accessible to ordinary people and if they were seen to be offering the social benefits outlined above, so much the better. Hence attempts to broaden their audience or run education programmes were viewed very positively (the RSC scored highly) So we kept the Royal Shakespeare Company as they have been around for a while, but also because they did the education programme and for all ages and abilities Would you have funded them if they didnt do those extras? I dont know It was their selling point, yes. If they hadnt said that, we might have thought that we werent sure. But it was because of all the extra things that they did as well and because they do a lot in terms of inspiring actors and actresses and things. (Family, ABC1, Medium engaged, Suburban) National youth companies such as British Youth Opera and the National Youth Jazz Orchestra were seen as ensuring the long-term health of art forms and giving opportunities to young people (as long as they are open to everyone). There was also felt to be a danger of losing less mainstream, but typically English, art forms if organisations such as Folk Arts England were not supported I think it is important that we retain our roots of England. It is getting lost now, you know, the folk songs. (Retired, ABC1, Medium engaged, Rural) Many of the respondents were aware of the debate about the funding for the rebuilding of the Royal Opera House and its ongoing productions. The view amongst those who were engaged to some degree with the arts was often that, in order to justify high levels of subsidy, it had to do more to broaden its audiences (there seemed little awareness of any efforts to do this to date or people felt they had been unsuccessful). More radical proposals included suggestions that the Opera House should be less ambitious in its productions so they were less costly and that its subsidy should be increased to allow ticket prices to be lowered to a level at which the social composition of the audience changed noticeably
It goes back to our original talk about how much it would cost to go and visit the Royal Opera House. Its very limiting, the amount of money thats been spent on it, and it limits the people who can actually experience the advantage and benefit of that. So, given an opportunity to fund that, we would have put conditions on it. Perhaps it would be very cheap matinee performances, maybe you could do some odd evening performances as well, just to reduce the price of it and give far more people an opportunity to enjoy the benefits of the opera. (Retired, ABC1, High engaged, Urban) Some of the engaged and less surprisingly, the low engaged, were against continued funding, feeling that the funds could be better used elsewhere And if its public money thats going on that, or keeping the National Opera House going or something like that, where theyre subsidising it to the tune of something ridiculous, where theyll pay 20 to get in, but each seat probably costs 100 odd. I think thats ridiculous. And I think it could be diverted to more popular things. Popular is not sometimes popular things that people, a lot of people enjoy, are frowned upon. And I dont think it should be. It doesnt have to be high brow, it doesnt have to be fantastic, its what you enjoy and sometimes people lose sight of that. (Family, C2DE, Medium engaged, Urban) I just feel it is a very large organisation which is elitist and there are a lot of very good operatic societies and opera companies that are on a par with the Royal Opera House doing a very good job in local areas, and are funded by he Arts Council round and about and are more accessible to the general public. And I just think this club should be broken down. (Post-family, ABC1, High engaged, Suburban) What I am always a bit uneasy about is in these large places like London and Manchester, that they do need such an enormous amount of money to fund something like opera, which really is a minority in music and drama really. And I do think it is a bit of a carbuncle on the arts quite frankly. (Choir)
7.2.6
Quality This was not a criterion that emerged directly from the group discussions but was something that was implied or that came out of some of the interviews with the Actively Involved. There was an assumption that projects, whether local or national, that were funded by the Arts Council, would be of a high
quality. Some of the organisations made the point that they were setting themselves high standards and tried to achieve these by employing good professional teachers. This was one of the things that made the idea of
achieving funding from the Arts Council particularly attractive it would say something about the quality of their provision. However, the question was asked whether they were delivering the excellence associated with arts funded by the Arts Council and should this be demanded of all community projects when they are more about delivering opportunity and creative expression? Another associated question was how did one stop the Arts Councils remit spilling over into areas of social care? One suggestion was that community projects may derive their funding from other, more socially oriented sources as well as the Arts Council and part of the Arts Councils role was to encourage the highest standards in whatever they deliver I think it would be terrific if there was a pot of money that was available specifically for community organisations, to give them a certain guidance as well, certain sort of standard and just to have the support of the Arts Council to do community projects. But I wouldn't expect that the Arts Council would be the sole supporter in something like that. (Community Arts Centre)
7.3
Reasons Not to Fund Some projects were denied funding by respondents because they simply could not identify their relevance or any tangible benefits or because they felt there was enough already of a particular art form. Clown skills for asylum seekers to help them adapt to life in Britain was, for many, the sort of daft project they would have suspected of the Arts Council and one that was likely to attract negative publicity, however laudable its aims.
7.3.1
To progress an individuals personal ambitions There was a marked antipathy from many quarters to funding for individuals that seemed to have as its prime purpose the progression of their careers or enabling them to exploit their talents commercially. This may have been due to the applications being worded more in terms of business goals rather than say, giving the artists the opportunity to progress their creativity. objections took several forms lots of artists are in this position so why would one be more deserving than another? My daughter is in this very position. Shes just finished, you know. I dont feel that she should be funded from the Arts Council. She should really get on and make her own way. Shes had the benefit of education and a degree, some of which shes had to pay a bit. But I think you should give it to more deprived people. Theyve got to jump into life, havent they? And they should really make their own way and not be funded. (Post family, C2DE, High engaged, Rural) only the artist is benefiting, not the wider community if the artist is determined and good, then they will be successful anyway there are other forms of funding available such as business loans The ones we said no to tended to be single people trying to set up a business type of thing, where we thought theres probably grants they could get from somewhere else. (Family, ABC1, Low engaged, Rural) At the root of the objections, seemed to be something of the resistance met earlier to the commercial motive for the arts generally. Some respondents and several among the Actively Involved recognised that artists might need help with launching their career, otherwise they could become discouraged but a proportion of these were more supportive of the Arts Council providing a loan rather than a grant or a matched grant. This
The
might be returned if the artist was successful. Another way of making a grant more acceptable was if the wider community benefited either directly or indirectly (e.g. requiring artists to spend some time visiting schools) Individual artists. Wed part fund meet us half way, if they can get up some money, well give them the rest. (Family, C2DE, High engaged, Urban) A bloke who wanted to go off to Gambia and do certain types of dance and drama If hed have come along and said I want to take a small group of people over to the Gambia then maybe, but because it was just oh yeah, its all about me. (Family, C2DE, High engaged, Urban) But there was this one case that I put forward the possibility of giving, I didnt think of it as a loan or a grant, or a totally refundable loan but if you get somebody whos got some artistic ability, and needs some funding to get themselves on to their feet so to speak, and then produces work that the community can then benefit from in terms of buying or entertainment or whateverif you dont give this person this grant or whatever, then they might be unemployable and may well end up on the dole or whatever, and so it may be cheaper, from a pure economics standpoint, to give this person a grant than to not give her one. So there was this little conundrum around individuals and groups. (Retired, ABC1, High engaged, Urban)
7.3.2
Proposals that should attract commercial funding In a similar way, some of the applications (not necessarily Arts Council projects) were seen as things that should have a private sponsor. These included a film, a ceramics caf and some of the broadcast projects where it was felt that the TV companies could have provided all the funding.
7.3.3
Public art This was an area that received little support, in part because of existing negative attitudes. Too often, they appeared to be works of little merit that cost large sums But this is just basically, its just showing you what people have gone through and then putting it into a composition, like this says, the dog that barks like a bird, to be stationed in a shopping centre, I mean it seems pointless. You know, a lot of people in the shopping centre will look at it and go, Whats he doing? And just walk past. (Family, C2DE, Medium engaged, Urban) I think generally, if you asked most people would you rather have this sculpture or would you like it to go towards helping under-privileged children perform, the general consensus would be, we dont need a sculpture. (Pre-family, C2DE, High engaged, Rural) Other factors in the almost unanimous rejection of the Castleford sculpture1 were the fact that its artist was not British and its temporary status.
7.4
Other Ideas When asked for their ideas for the sorts of projects that the Arts Council might fund, the suggestions tended to be one-offs but all oriented to widening access and increasing levels of engagement. This engagement might involve encouraging appreciation of and interest in the arts leading to higher rates of attendance or providing opportunities for more participation There are two sides to this really. There could just be art for audience sake and then art for participation sake. We have six members of the English Chamber Orchestra come from London to Bristol Childrens Hospice for Children in Need, and they came in and inspired thoughts to their music and then it is gone. You dont expect any of those children to say, I am going to
This project is a public sculpture in Castlefords town centre created by German artists Winter/Hrbelt with input from residents. It is constructed from shipping containers and bottle crates and is due to be on display for at least six months. -115Creative Research, 43 The Broadway, London W13 9BP
have to play the violin, it was what happened then and what that meant to them and the enjoyment they got from it. I think that is slightly different from saying you want to, you want everyone to go and paint because they ought to. I mean sometimes you just want to enjoy it, be part of the audience. At the same time there is a real need for the participation side to kick in as well, and I think thats where it may need to say well you dont need to see the Chamber orchestra, we need to dumb it down a little bit and say, lets do percussion, because percussion, children can actually get hands-on and get a lot of fun out of that, but then things may develop from there. (Post-family, ABC1, High engaged, Suburban) There was some sense among those who were most involved in the discussions that the proposals, while interesting, were not as exciting as they had hoped If in there it said we are going to take a truck load of canvas, a truck load of paints and a really good working artist to schools, you know, and basically say, right, these are what oil paints are, these are water colours, theres a canvas, we are going to show you, give you some idea about how you use them and this guy here is going to help you out when you get stuck or basically want to produce something in either oils or colours or whatever Okay, so some kind of big educational project? I didnt think there was enough to excite me there eitherThere didnt seem to be much in there about taking risk anywhere. It all seemed to be pretty straightforward and there wasnt enough about the unknown. (Post-family, ABC1, High engaged, Suburban) Most of the ideas built on those discussed earlier For the disadvantaged more projects that address social inequalities and groups that are in real need drug abusers, women who have suffered domestic violence, disabled people They should be going into the less privileged areas and maybe starting up little theatre productions and you know Community workshops
Community workshops, definitely [some agree] I think they need the money to help people out of the situations that theyre in. (Family, C2DE, High engaged, Urban) encourage the elderly and lonely to participate in matinee theatre trips, tea dances etc. For children and young people more for young people generally but especially in small towns that have very little currently We seem to spend a lot on everything except our own youth. (Dependent single, C2DE, Low engaged, Suburban) It just makes me want to have more around here. (Dependent single, C2DE, Low engaged, Suburban) spotting of talent among all children I think thats what Im after, that this isnt elitist, that, in fact, it is open to everybody. And that they demonstrate by whether its national auditions or whatever, that it is open to all. (Retired, ABC1, High engaged, Urban) I think it is very important that everybody gets a chance to find out because you never never know. You never know whats lurking in some brat who has just scrawled something all over your wall in the front room. (Post-family, ABC1, High engaged, Suburban) Artists in Schools programmes funding of theatre trips for schools and outreach into schools supporting schools in putting on productions If you are going to get lots of people to participate then there is nothing wrong in going, for example, supporting a local group or a group of schools or, if they are doing something mainstream. It doesnt have to be ballet, it doesnt have to be choirs, it could be something like, you know, Chicago or something like that, it doesnt have to
be Becket or anyone like that, just good fun. (Postfamily, ABC1, High engaged, Suburban) make use of extended schools to deliver more arts provision summer holiday arts projects funding for the purchase of expensive musical instruments
For potential artists opportunities to show their work opportunities to obtain creative mentoring or business advice The thing about individual artists is, I think if they had a centre of excellence where they could go and show their art work I think that would be a lot cheaper than them actually giving them money to finance No, Im not saying we should lay out money and give them, we have just got to provide them with an opportunity to show their skills. (Pre-family, ABC1, Medium engaged, Suburban) Public Art some significant landmark for Bristol brass bands in parks graffiti walls that are renewed on a regular basis improvement in the fabric of local theatres, arts centres and community centres Community projects projects that involve a community eg. in creating something in their neighbourhood You know, something to get people out of the environment, to be able to work as a community and without making the art too difficult where we can all contribute in small ways. I havent got any answers to
what that is, I just want people to excite me with something where we can come together and as a mass of people we can create something. Under guidance, under supervision. (Post-family, ABC1, High engaged, Suburban) One idea was to encourage communities to find matched funding so that they would feel committed to the up-keep of the work after it was completed. Those who helped get the project off the ground might be rewarded for their efforts with some kind of accreditation that they could include in their CVs. more open air events (along the lines of the Sultans Elephant) that have great emotional impact It would be lovely to have more things like that, that are just out in the open, in all our open green spaces, you could be doing all sorts of things really. Everybody could have access to them. (Crafts club) People are hungry for that kind of experience but until its there, they dont know. (Mosaic project)
7.5
Impact on Perceptions of the Arts Council Once respondents were made aware that many of the applications had in fact been funded to some level by the Arts Council, most were pleased by the diversity of the arts forms featured it dispelled the suspicion some held initially that the Council might have a very narrow focus I must say, until I saw these [projects funded by ACE] I thought the Arts Council was a bit po-faced and unless it was rather effete or far out or peculiar, their names wouldnt be on it. But Ive been delighted over the last few years to see the Arts Councils name on some very progressive things theyre doing. And if theyre faced with these sorts of applications, it heartens me to think that people are feeling free to write to them for funding. (Retired, ABC1, High engaged, Urban) Many, including those who were little engaged with the arts through lack of opportunity were heartened because many of the proposals seemed to be aimed at all types of people and locations
Its nice to know that the Arts Council are doing more than what I thought they were doing, especially with these projects that are all around the table, which do need bringing on. As I say our youth of today is our next generation so something needs to be done. (Retired, C2DE, Low engaged, Urban) However, this very broad range of projects gave respondents the opportunity to identify projects that did not seem relevant to them, or appropriate in general I think so but they throw too much money at little things that dont interest anybody else apart form the actual recipient. Thats not right. (Post-family, C2DE, Low engaged, Suburban) There were also a few low engaged who had little interest in increasing their involvement anyway, so were not inspired by seeing the breadth of projects funded They [the Arts Council] should be chucking a lot of them out! (Pre-family, ABC1, Low engaged, Rural) Having conducted this exercise, a number of respondents commented that they had found it difficult to make the decisions and this led some to empathise with the difficult task the Arts Council faced.
7.5.1
Transparency of decision making The strength of feeling that lay behind their espousing of the criteria for selection, led to a number of respondents requesting greater transparency on the part of the Arts Council with respect to how funding decisions are actually made and which projects are funded as a result. This seemed particularly reasonable since it is spending public money And if its government funded, the government surely could direct the Arts Council to inform the public a little bit more about what they do with their money and where their money comes from. Because, you know, Oh, the Arts Council, thats not out of my pocket, but if its government funded, it is out of my pocket somewhere. So I think they should account themselves to us, what theyre doing with it. (Post-family, C2DE, High engaged, Rural)
We tended to pick things up that had direct impact on people of the widest audience, but some of these projects certainly dont seem to have that, so how do they choose to fund these things is still a big mystery to me, and to what extent they fund them is an even bigger question. (Family, ABC1, Low engaged, Rural) And I didnt realise how elitist it really is in relation to the amount of funding that goes in certain areas. And I would really like to think that at some stage it would come down to the grassroots and people were completely transparent so that you could see where the funding came from and also have some sort of say in it where it is good and where it is not so good, and the feedback actually went back to the right people. (Postfamily, ABC1, High engaged, Suburban) There was no great call for the Arts Council to incur great expense in marketing itself but it was generally felt that everyone would benefit from being able to access this information say, via its website. Respondents, including several of the Actively Involved, wished the Arts Council to make potential candidates for funding more aware of what was on offer and how one qualified for funding How have they justified who gets what, how do they look at their applications? Is it ethnicity, the size of the group, what are they going to look for when they give people the money? Well, theyll have the criteria of what you have to fulfil but as I say, its a case of just having that document in front of them theres not enough evidence for them to justify why they're gonna give you the money or not. Cos anyone can plagiarise and write something that looks top quality, use the best terminology and write stuff that looks wow, but then the evidence is not there. How can you justify that that group can have that money? (Dance and drama group) One suggestion was for some kind of feasibility check that could be included on the website with signposting on how to get started We had to work out how to do it and everything on our own. There wasnt anything there that was saying, you want to do an arts project? Well help you find out how which would have been fantastic. (Mosaic project) A need was identified to simplify the application process and given that many of those applying may be volunteers, for help to be offered with completion of the forms
Although Im experienced in dealing with those sorts of things, even I found it difficult. Anybody from a small group, like, as you say, like a village hall or something, trying to buy a few instruments, would find it so complicated that they would probably, in the end, not bother submitting it at all. So it should be easier to apply. (Retired, ABC1, High engaged, Urban) It was suggested that there should not be total reliance on the forms and that more effort should be made to visit and gain a fuller picture of the candidate organisation Come down, like obviously explore, do their background history, research the group, see what theyve produced before, obviously where theyve got their funding, whos funded them before, what projects, what are they doing in the community what impact does that project have on the community and as I say, its aims and objectives of things is fine but going down there, maybe asking the children as well what they're going to get out of doing the project. Its for the children so the children need to represent to say what theyre gonna get out of it. (Dance and drama group) In addition, if their applications were rejected, they would like some feedback to help them with subsequent efforts.
7.5.2
Sharing of Good Practice A suggestion from some of those involved in groups was that projects and organisations could doubtless learn from each other and that the Arts Council should facilitate this sharing I think all the things that we do could be replicated across the country and its a good model. (Dance and drama group) Indeed, some of the applications in the decision making exercise were seen as providing a model that could be used around the country It was the variety of what was being suggested and the accessibility that every, any person could have to it, and how far it could then be taken around the country. It wasnt just a one off funding, then it's gone. You know something that was repeatable and a model that could be used, not just once. Thats my criterion, long term benefits. (Craft club)
7.5.3
A Public Voice Views about the potential contribution that members of public could make to the Arts Council were raised early in the discussion about funding. It was interesting that now that people had been exposed to the task of discriminating between applications for funds, many appreciated its difficulty and the need for specialist skills. However, there remained the feeling that members of the public had much to contribute because they might know the communities that projects were aimed at and have a better understanding of what they might achieve. It was also felt that being seen to involve ordinary people could improve and heighten the Arts Council profile and help to break down barriers with those who are yet to be engaged with the arts But the general public who love art could quite easily help to make policy Because you have to have somebody who has got a knowledge of the kinds of arts that are available from your own personal experience But it doesnt necessarily have to be art, it just needs somebody with some common sense and business knowledge and somebody that has got the community at the heart of everything they do. And have a finger on the pulse rather than somebody that has been imposed on an area that doesnt actually know what happens in this area. I mean for you for example, you would be great to sit on there because you have got passion in those areas. (Post-family, ABC1, High engaged, Suburban)
7.6
Accountability of Fundees When asked about the responsibilities that should lie with the companies and groups that had received funding, there was some surprise that the question was being asked surely there was a system of accounting for monies received already? The immediate response was that there should be a clear
understanding about how the funds were to be spent and that this should be monitored (several spoke of the ease of diverting funds to cover other costs). The application should also include a statement of what are the intended outcomes and benefits of the funded project and again, these should be evaluated in some way I think anywhere where funding is handed out, they should at least have a set of goals and the Arts Council should, after the production or whatever, re-examine it and see if those goals were achieved really And what kind of goals would you expect them to be? I dont know, it is, audience participation, audience numbers, I really dont know. It depends on whatever the production is or whatever project they are putting together but I would expect them to at least do some sort of analysis to see if it was delivered if the group doesnt work then the funding is withdrawn, and given to the ones that would get better use out of it. (Postfamily, ABC1, High engaged, Suburban) They should be monitored because you could give someone like millions of pounds or like hundreds of thousands and then they could just like not spend it on what they said they were going to but you wouldnt know. Your taxes could be going towards something completely useless if youre using public money you should make sure that its being spent in the right way. (Dependent single, ABC1, High engaged, Suburban) The Actively Involved who thought they might like to apply for funding from the Arts Council accepted that monitoring was necessary and they already had to provide such statistics as the size and make-up of their audience to other funding bodies. However the task was often extremely onerous You have to account for that money, as you should do I think for a lot of voluntary organisations, you get the funding, thats great, you spend the money, then you have the monitoring forms to do, the monitoring forms are a statistical nightmare if you are not trained. Having to do gender breakdowns, racial breakdowns which are virtually impossible because when people come along to access something thats fun, you're not going to get a picture of where somebodys grandfather was born and its its not a number one priority and all of those
things you do have to do. I think a lot of good groups probably fall at those hurdles, I don't know what you do about it. (Community arts centre) Many respondents were also aware of how onerous monitoring systems could be, both for the funding organisation and the funded. They neither wanted them to involve so much administration that they became unwieldy and very expensive, nor too constraining on the art form. Checking a percentage of the funded projects in spot audits and arms-length monitoring by telephone with occasional visits, were suggested If we had an army of bureaucrats checking how it is all spent, we would all be saying, well, the Arts Council is a jobs for the boys organisation. (Post-family, ABC1, Medium engaged, Suburban) Some of the Actively Involved suggested that if an organisation had proven that it was delivering high quality art and achieving its goals, then perhaps a lighter touch might be applied to monitoring. The more cautious suggested that funds should be released on a phased basis to ensure progress is as envisaged and there should be penalties for those who squander their funds. Moreover, it was proposed that the anticipated outputs of the funded organisation should not be so rigidly defined that there is no room for flexibility and that the Arts Council should not be able to prescribe how the artists creativity should be expressed. A few also made the point that not all projects should be expected to succeed. It was important, however, that when they did not, lessons were learned and shared. Having discussed the concept of loans for individual artists, respondents in some groups went on to suggest that if the funded organisation had a successful production that resulted in a surplus, or if some value was created in say, image rights, then perhaps there should be some repayment to the Arts Council.
7.7
National Lottery Funds The majority view was that the funds from the National Lottery should be distributed on the same basis as the funds from Government since they were all public money. However some felt that a case could be made for directing Lottery funding to the areas that contribute the most to the Lottery the sorts of projects that will benefit people who play the Lottery (ie. not the Royal Ballet or Opera House) Because its the community that really put the money into it, isnt it really? I think it could help out the community a lot more than what it already is to be honest, theres a lot more they could do. (Post-family, C2DE, Low engaged, Suburban) charitable projects projects that are quite different and would normally not attract funding e.g. more flamboyant individuals.
The arts were generally seen as a worthwhile channel for Lottery funds (providing they are readily accessible arts) and there was some call for an increase in levels of funding from this source.
Impact of the Discussion

At the close of the discussion with the general public, they were asked whether their views had been altered at all by what they had been discussing. There was a broad range of response. A number of the older low engaged respondents said that their own interest in art/the arts had not changed they were still not for them and some of the most resistant claimed to have been little interested by the discussion of what the Arts Council does I think things like this [arts], youre either interested or youre not by the time you are our age. (Post-family, C2DE, Low engaged, Suburban) No, I dont feel any different because at the end of the day who are the Arts Council anyway? I dont know nothing about them. Ive heard about them, I dont know nothing about them. (Postfamily, C2DE, Low engaged, Suburban) However others thought that, while they were unlikely to change their own attitudes, the discussion had made them think that there was more art around or more money spent on the arts than they had thought and it was important that more people should have access to it if they want it Theres people out there who would enjoy the fairytale weekend and theyre paying 39p per weekthey [the Arts Council] have got to cater for everybody paying taxes at the end of the day. (Pre-family, ABC1, Low engaged, Rural) Yeah, it has actually, its riled me a little bit in that obviously it is quite a lot of money out there to be given and that not a lot of it seems to be noticeable in our area and you know, like Im saying, especially in our schools (Family, ABC1, Low Engaged, Rural) For other low engaged respondents, the discussion piqued their interest a little I have to say that I am a bit more interested in art than I was before. (Pre-family, C2DE, Low engaged, Urban)
It has given me a better understanding of them and made me more aware of how much it actually does affect peoples lives rather than just dismissing the idea like I used to when I came in here I said I didnt care for the arts but I obviously do as Ive been debating about it. (Dependent singles, C2DE, Low engaged, Suburban) Some of the younger low engaged said it had made them want to look into what was available in their area (they had suspected there was very little) and for others, it had simply reinforced their desire for more to be happening in their town It just makes me want to have more round here [Great Yarmouth] that I can do, go to more theatres, if there was actually a decent theatre around here. (Dependent single, C2DE, Low engaged, Suburban) Most positively, the discussion had inspired one man to look into the possibility of gaining funding for the community centre on his estate and of using art to improve the lives of the residents. The medium and high engaged were more consistently positive in their response. The discussion made them think more broadly about art and the arts, their pervasiveness and their importance to their own lives and society Whats been fascinating is the fact that Ive never thought of arts in the way in which its been described here this afternoon, seeing all the positive things weve listed as art. And Ive listed half a dozen things, but all the others that Id obviously missed. And thats opened my eyes to it. (Retired, ABC1, High engaged, Urban) And its made me realise how many of us in our everyday lives turn to art you were saying when youve had a bad day, you go and put the music on and you couldnt live without music. How much art is involved? Its not something outside, it is part of everyday life and it kind of keeps us a bit sane. And I hadnt really thought that art was involved so much in our lives. (Post-family, C2DE, High engaged, Rural) Its just opened my eyes, made me realise that art is part of everyday, its not just going to the theatre once a year,
its part of everyday and I actually take everything for granted down to Strictly Come Dancing that I watch! You take so much for granted and you dont need to go to the theatre or go to the ballet to appreciate art. (Pre-family, ABC1, Medium engaged, Suburban) want to look into whats on offer more closely and for one or two, try something they had rejected to date For me, it has just made me think about art in general really and it has made me think about what we have in and around Bristol. And really, I think it has probably given me a bit more of an incentive to have maybe a closer look at that, at whats available locally. (Postfamily, ABC1, High engaged, Suburban) No, my whole perception of the arts has changed. It makes me think Ill look more into just something different. I wont do the same thing every weekend, Ill just go out and look for something different to do with the arts, whatever it be. But Ive learned so much, but like you say, my perception was theatre and now Ive learned so many different types of the arts that I will look at every single one of them. (Pre-family, ABC1, Medium engaged, Suburban) realise how fortunate they are to have relatively easy access to the arts It made me, if anything, want to get a bit more involved and try and do something and I suppose this kind of just lets you know how hard some people have to work to get some of the things that we do take for granted. (Family, C2DE, High engaged, Urban) (for some of the medium engaged) look at their lifestyles and the barriers they put up to participating in the arts more It makes you question your own lifestyle sometimes, making choices about spending money. I am thinking about my own life I am spending too much time at the pub or on the settee and I think that was just quite interesting for me to reflect on some of the things that are happening, particularly now my kids are grown up and we are actually doing lots of different things. (Post-family, ABC1, High engaged, Suburban)
It is not something that we automatically make a priority, but perhaps it ought to be. Perhaps it is something that we should think more strongly about and give some more thought to it. (Family, ABC1, Medium engaged, Suburban) interested in and appreciative of what the Arts Council is and what it is trying to do (including conducting the current review) and for some, what a difficult job it has react in different ways to how the Arts Councils considerable funds are allocated. Many were heartened by the depth and breadth of projects (a wider range reaching a broader crosssection of people than anticipated) while others felt they should be even more mainstream and more evident in local communities Maybe I have a broader view of what art is now, and I am impressed by the Arts Council if they have funded these things. It has made me appreciate what is around more. (Family, ABC1, Medium engaged, Suburban) I think weve learnt something about the Arts Council I think weve realised that they do very broad funding of a lot of things which is interesting and also that they dont fund a lot of the wacky things that worry us a bit. (Retired, C2DE, Medium engaged, Urban) I didnt know much about the Arts Council. I still dont know much about them really but I take my hat off to them if theyre doing that kind of work, and may they continue to just get it right. (Retired, C2DE, Medium engaged, Urban) realise how fortunate they are to live in a country that takes the arts so seriously and how important it is that this should continue I do feel quite privileged and proud to think that we live in a country that takes it so serious really, you know, the arts, quite proud really that we do all take it quite seriously and everyones involved. (Family, C2DE, High engaged, Urban) And if the Government are putting that much money in, maybe they shouldnt get such a bad press that theyre getting. They are doing something much more involving
everybodys ordinary life in which case, the Arts Council should be given more kind of cred for influencing our lives really. (Post-family, C2DE, High engaged, Rural) surprised (a few) at how strongly they felt and how much they had to say. Some came out feeling they knew more about the arts than they had thought and a number felt they could now talk with more confidence on the subject.
9
9.1
Conclusions and Challenges

Introduction In this section we provide our thoughts on what the research findings mean how do they answer the questions that were posed? We go on to suggest, as inputs to the debate, some of the challenges we think the findings present for the Arts Council.
9.2
The Value Placed on the Arts We conclude that this research demonstrates that the arts are seen as offering enormous public value. It shows that among the general public who are given the opportunity to explore their experience of the arts and discuss the place of the arts in their lives, there is an appreciation that the arts are of personal value to them, albeit of varying levels. They may prefer to call their chosen art forms
entertainment in order to distance themselves from more conventional art forms, but there is an acceptance that their lives are touched by the arts when a broader definition is applied. More strikingly, there is overwhelming agreement that the arts perform an important and valuable role within society generally. A long list of benefits offered by the arts is readily accepted and those who are less engaged with the arts recognise their value to others, if not for themselves. The idea of a world without the arts is abhorrent to all and there is widespread acceptance of the importance of supporting the arts with public money. There is an
almost universal call for children to be brought up with exposure to the arts, for their own sake and for that of wider society. 9.3 Funding Priorities and their Perceived Value Given its mission, to put the arts at the heart of national life and people at the heart of the arts, and the fact that the Arts Council distributes public funds, it
is not surprising that the criteria that are given top priority in making funding decisions are benefiting society at large reaching as many people as possible deriving lasting benefits.
Great value is put on community based projects that will deliver benefits for individuals and wider society whereas other areas of funding lead to negative opinions about the delivery of public value. The most contentious areas are high levels of funding for the large, national companies funding for individuals and public art (which often happens to be conceptual).
If these are to be areas of funding for the Arts Council, then their value needs to be communicated. The problem for the national companies and organisations seems to be their ready association with elitist arts that much of the population is not interested in or if they are interested, are unable to access. There was little appreciation of efforts they are currently making to try to widen access or these are thought to be ineffective. Their principal role is seen as an exemplar of excellence in their specific art forms and in their ability to engender a sense of national pride. They represent a legacy for the future, something to which the young people engaged in the national youth organisations, for example, can aspire. While this perceived value justifies funding to a degree, there is a need to communicate how public funding is employed and what is achieved through it. If access is not being widened as a result, then perhaps other approaches are needed. Mainstream thinking is that public art funded by the public does not deliver value either because people find it hard to understand (and dont wish to find out what it is about) and/or the context in which it resides (e.g. outside a hospital, in the middle of a roundabout) affects perceptions of its value (the money would be better spent inside the hospital). High profile and admittedly,
semi-figurative works such as the Angel of the North seem to have more chance of being assigned value, even if they take time to grow on you. The funding of individual artists was not seen as being of great benefit to society; the launch of a career and commercial success were not the outputs that the public envisaged from Arts Council funded projects. If this funding is to continue, then perhaps messages about the needs of the artist, size of the awards, the matching of funding and repayment if success results, may be helpful in changing perceptions. Alternatively, given that the commercial motive is one of which the public is so suspicious especially when it comes to the use of public funds, then perhaps the Arts Council (and Government) should give the economic importance of the arts greater emphasis. 9.4 Implications for the Arts Council The first implication of the varying levels of approval for different types of projects, is perhaps to raise the question of whether the Arts Council should establish different funding streams possibly, community projects, national companies and individual artists. This might help public perceptions because they would see that each project was not competing for the same pot of money but was competing for funds against similar types of applications. The public might identify, for example, that the pots for national companies and community projects are similar in size but far more of the latter types of project can be funded than the former. The application and decision-making processes could also be tailored to the types of candidates. The research revealed much latent interest in what the Arts Council is and how it uses public money. To combat accusations of institutional exclusivity and satisfy this interest, there is a need for the Arts Council to build a higher profile for itself and step out from its role in the back office. This is not to say that it should market itself through costly campaigns but it needs to create awareness of what it is trying to achieve and what this means for the public, artists and arts organisations.
The Arts Council needs to become associated with the broad range of high quality projects that it funds and to inform people of opportunities open to them. It should publicise the fact that information, advice and guidance are available and be more proactive in providing this. The website is a starting point with tools like the feasibility check suggested by one respondent but there is an expectation of help readily available at the end of the phone as well as staff being prepared to visit applicant groups. This could have serious implications for staffing and the expectations of applicants will need careful management as they are likely to be high. Greater transparency is required to offset the suspicion that exists about funds going to favoured people and companies. As groups begin to feel that the Arts Council is a potential source of funds, they will demand to know how and why funds have been allocated, both as initial awards and as continued funding. The Arts Council, with its overview of publicly funded arts in England and its mission to increase access, will need to provide information about best practice in the arts. While the arts go hand in hand with creativity and
originality, information about the more mundane side of the operation of community projects could be usefully shared to ensure optimum
effectiveness. This should include the sharing of lessons learned from less successful projects. There is clearly a desire for members of the public to contribute to decision making at the Arts Council alongside the specialist expertise that they recognise as essential. The concept of a more democratic rather than
collegiate approach would seem to have some merits especially for the community-based projects. Many of those that took part in the research seemed to have the local insight, the ability to be open-minded and a genuine interest in the arts and what they can offer, that would equip them to fulfil such a role.
9.5
Implications for Fundees A requirement for there to be in place a clear statement of the aims of a project or group, the monitoring of the use of funds and an evaluation of the outcomes against aims, was seen as only common sense and as something demanded by other funding sources. There was no desire for this process to be complex, restrictive, costly or overly cumbersome and most assumed that something along these lines was already in place. If the Arts Council and its role are to become better known and its decision making is to be seen as transparent, then the meeting of these responsibilities by fundees will be expected and required.
9.6
Increasing Engagement with the Arts Access to the arts is not perceived to be a major issue. Some feel that they have as much to do with arts as they would like; others would like to be able to do more and claim that if certain obstacles were removed, this would make it easier for them to do so. Certain of these obstacles are very tangible and seem very real for example, the lack of provision for certain groups in specific locations, and the cost of access. However, if the twin barriers
impeding greater engagement with the arts are more generally a lack of motivation and inertia, the question seems to be, would more people engage with the arts or do so more frequently if the various obstacles they cite were to be overcome? We suggest that the most important obstacles, especially for those we have called the low engaged, unengaged or anti-engaged are the psychological ones, those that prevent people even considering attending or (god forbid) participating in some form of the arts. Central to any strategy for combating these obstacles and thereby having any chance of increasing engagement among these groups will be providing reassurance. reassured that, whatever the art form, it is for people like them People need to be
they will feel at ease they will enjoy it.
This is not to say that the more tangible obstacles are unimportant. If some of these can be lowered, then perhaps they can contribute to creating this vital reassurance. Thus, the arts need to be available in a popular, familiar form where the emphasis is on fun and enjoyment available more locally well publicised in the sorts of places that reach the intended audience publicised in an appealing way that tells people what they will get out of it.
We suggest that an analogy could be drawn with the way in which museums have developed over the last twenty-five years. In the past, the focus in museums was on the collections and exhibitions were very object based, offered minimal interpretation and delivered very serious and academic communication that was inaccessible to most ordinary people. They have become places in which the emphasis is on the communication of ideas, where multi-media, hands-on experiences happen and where learning takes place alongside entertainment and having fun. Visitor numbers and a broader socio-economic profile attest to their success. Some of the most popular and inclusive events that enable people to sample the arts seem to be the outdoor festivals (sometimes, but not always called arts festivals), carnival and street performance. The open nature of these events means that anyone can wander through, they can move on if they are not enjoying something and there are other distractions like refreshments and the facility to socialise that add to the experience. There would therefore seem to be an opportunity to use such events as a means of exposing people to new and familiar art forms in a familiar setting. Another tactic that might be exploited is using children to bring their parents into the arts. Parents say they will respond if their children request interaction
with the arts so perhaps they should be given the opportunity to do so by making inexpensive, local events and productions available.
9.7
What do we call it? Finally, we have noted the restrictive and even negative associations for many people of the term, the arts. The options for confronting these seem to be to maintain and support the accepted meaning as the traditional arts but make these more accessible to create another term with a wider meaning such as arts and entertainment somehow to widen and popularise the meaning of the arts.
We would favour the last of these because clearly, the arts world is always changing and new and emerging art forms are earning their place within it. Moreover, defining the boundaries between the arts and non-arts is not easy as the exercise looking at what counts as art, demonstrates. The arts
therefore needs to become a flexible receptacle for a changing range of activities perhaps defined according to the three requirements of the creative idea, effort and skill, and gaining a response. We suggest that this shift in meaning is best achieved, not by a self-conscious campaign that risks alienating the very people it seeks to engage, but instead by a slow and more subtle repositioning of the Arts Council and its association with a broader range of funded projects.

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The Arts Debate Findings of Research among the General Public

The Arts Debate Findings of Research among the General Public

COI, on behalf of its client, Arts Council England

Creative Research 43 The Broadway London W13 9BP

Tel: Fax: Email:

020 8567 6974 020 8567 6979 creative@creativeresearch.co.uk

Benefits of the Arts ......................................................................................... 70 5.1 Introduction ................................................................................................ 70

5.2 5.3 5.4 6

The Arts Debate Findings of Research among the General Public

Summary of Findings and Conclusions

The Arts Debate Findings of Research among the General Public

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The Arts Debate Findings of Research among the General Public

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The Arts Debate Findings of Research among the General Public

The Arts Debate Findings of Research among the General Public

of the importance of supporting the arts with public money.

The Arts Debate Findings of Research among the General Public

The Arts Debate Findings of Research among the General Public

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The Arts Debate Findings of Research among the General Public

attitudes to funding of the arts and how this should be prioritised.

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The Arts Debate Findings of Research among the General Public

C2DE Medium High High High Medium

Medium Medium Low

financially independent of their parents.

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The Arts Debate Findings of Research among the General Public

What is Art? What are the Arts?

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The Arts Debate Findings of Research among the General Public