Now that green shoots are being seen everywhere, what happened to the plans for the arts and creative sector to lead us out of recession?
By all accounts, the New Deal of the Mind is still going strong – with plenty of supporters across the subsidised sector; and, of course, CCS will still find time to publish pieces about the role of culture and creativity after the crunch. But where are the new initiatives? Whatever happened to the plans by Blears and Burnham to give vacant shops to artists? Or Purnell’s plans for a creative workforce?
Some of the plans may well have got underway, but I haven’t heard about arts or creative groups benefitting. Where are the Arts Council in all this? Or the RDAs? (Whatever happened to Creative London?)
The attached paper sets out some simple, practical, ideas which could be got off the ground soon. Anyone interested?
Graham Hitchen 