Culture Chronicle

Two-thirds of people 'agree with arts funding change'
BBC.com - September 2, 2010

Two-thirds of people agree with the government's stance on cutting arts funding and increasing reliance on private cash, a survey has suggested.

And a fifth of the 2,022 British adults questioned said visual arts should not be given any government funding.

The poll was commissioned by organisers of The Threadneedle visual arts prize.

Meanwhile, England's regional museums warn collections will be mothballed after expected arts cuts of at least 25% in October's spending review.

In July, the government asked all major arts funding bodies to show how they would manage cuts of 25% or 30%.

The Department of Culture, Media and Sport has already pulled the plug on the UK Film Council, which costs £15m a year and employs 75 people, along with 15 other bodies, including the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council.

It hopes private money will help plug the gap, but some of the country's leading philanthropists have written to Prime Minister David Cameron warning the ambition is overly optimistic.

Chancellor George Osborne will announce results of the government's spending review on 20 October. *For the full article, click here *