<B>Arts Funding in the UK</B><P>The BBC has a page devoted to links to thier UK arts funding articles. It really is a mine of information.<P><A HREF="http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/in_depth/entertainment/2001/arts_funding/" TARGET=_blank><B>click for more</B></A><BR>

I didn't realise that there were that many places after so little money..it's a disgrace!!!Our arts need more money...NOW!!

I'm with you Sugar Plum!<P>The good news is that Gerry Robinson, the Chairman of The Arts Council has persuaded the Government to give more money to the Arts, starting next year. it's still much less than most of our European neighbours, but much more than central Govt. funding of the Arts in the US.

Interesting article in The Guardian.

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I agree that it is an interesting article and provides a good overview of the funding systems in four countries. The sub-heading "Is it time to scrap Government funding altogether and privatise the whole show?" is misleading as this is not on the writer's agenda.

The arts column: big business pulls the plug
As corporate sponsorship becomes harder to secure, arts organisations are turning to individual patrons for support. Rupert Christiansen reports fopr The Daily Telegraph.

The Thatcherite dream that corporate sponsorship could plug a hole in arts funding has proved
short-lived. Several former major players - Abbey National, BT, IBM and NatWest for example -
have effectively pulled out of the arts altogether, and the RSC, Scottish Opera, the Halle and CBSO are only four of many institutions which have lost out badly in consequence.

Research by the consultancy Arts & Business shows that in the last financial year corporate
sponsorship dropped from £150m to £114m - and all this year's dips and dives should send that
figure crashing a further 20-30 per cent. Put brutally, business is getting fed up with the arts.

There's not enough grovelling or payback, and grand opera or Britart doesn't bring either the
exposure or the coverage that big sporting events afford.

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<small>[ 11-08-2002, 19:25: Message edited by: Stuart Sweeney ]</small>

Artists boycott gala in funds row
By Fiachra Gibbons for The Guardian


There is a bad old joke that the only culture in Belfast can be found at the bottom of a yoghurt pot. Given the damage done by the Troubles and chronic underfunding of the arts, once it was not altogether untrue.

But last night some of the province's most famous names appeared to be saying enough was enough. The actors Stephen Rea and Adrian Dunbar have joined the playwright Brian Friel and critic Tom Paulin in an attack on Belfast city council for slashing its grants by more than a fifth.

Artists picketed the council's Arts Awards last night to highlight what they felt was official hypocrisy in celebrating their achievements while cutting their budgets. A letter signed by 250, a who's who of the Northern Irish scene, hammered home the message, and 14 of the nominees boycotted the gala.

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Boost for ROH.

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And from The guardian.

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<small>[ 17 November 2003, 03:36 AM: Message edited by: Joanne ]</small>

Lloyd Webber calls for West End tax breaks
by Jeremy Austin for The Stage

Andrew Lloyd Webber is calling on the government to introduce tax breaks for new West End drama producers in an attempt to make it easier for commercial producers to compete with those in the subsidised sector.

Speaking to The Stage, life peer Lloyd Webber said he intends to "beat the drum a wee bit" in the House of Lords to try to influence government in coming to the aid of the commercial sector by introducing film industry-style breaks.

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