holliewestwood

[holliewestwood]

Policy Reform for the Arts

Much of my research for this project has been focused on what current arts policy looks like - in both the Levelling Up agenda and in the Let's Create strategy from ACE. This week I've been writing about why we see spatial disparities in the arts and culture, particularly in terms of:

London versus the regions

North versus South

Urban versus rural

The disparities in the arts are closely linked to other (more typical) measures of inequality such as health, employment and crime. The levelling up agenda seeks to address these inequalities, as does the Let's Create strategy. At this time, it's impossible to tell whether or not current policy will be successful in addressing these issues. Clearly, in that I am writing this dissertation, I think that current policy may not have the desired affect. Especially not in the short 10-year time frame of Let's Create.

So, what would a better policy look like? I knew I wanted to write my final chapter on alternative visions for cultural policy in England, however, I haven't been sure what shape those visions would take. In fact, I was beginning to doubt whether or not I'd be able to offer anything of worth. Then, I spoke to David Powell.

David was a part of the GPS Culture research collective who wrote on the spatial inequalities in the arts, with a particular focus on Lottery funding, between 2013 and 2019. In fact, we spoke over Zoom almost 10 years to the day since the first GPS Culture report was published. It was a joy to talk to David - he was frank about his views and open to sharing both of his research and experiences of working in the arts and culture sector. (At the end of our discussion, we got chatting about my future plans and he urged me not to become reliant on the Arts Council to survive - something that simultaneously seems impossible and entirely necessary under the current system).

The conversation I had with David Powell has helped being shaping my thoughts on what policy reform will look like. Here is an early draft of those thoughts:

Arts Council reform must be robust. It must be thorough. Complete overhaul?

Local places know what is best for them. Trust them.

A 'new' Arts Council must be open to change (and critique).

A new body to distribute Lottery funding in the arts

Government scrutiny - not control. A clearer understanding of what the arms-length principle means.

These are early ideas and I am hoping to shape them into a snappier sounding framework which will probably be accompanied by some funky infographics (and actual data to back it up).

You can read the GPS Culture reports here: www.gpsculture.co.uk/

If you've got any thoughts please get in touch! Here's to hoping that ACE don't *actually* have a blacklist.

[holliewestwood]

Progress Not Perfection

I’m still in the early phases of this research project - which feels daunting given my deadline is at the beginning of January. But I am happy with where I am at. I’ve laid a solid groundwork with lots of reading. The government White Paper on Levelling Up isn’t one I’ll be reccommending to a friend, but I’ve really enjoyed reading Mark Robinson (www.thinkingpractice.co.uk) and François Matarasso (www.aresstlessart.com). I’ve got interviews lined up, which both me and my supervisor thought would be unlikely so that’s a big relief. And I have put together the beginnings of a structure which puts me in a good place to start writing over the weekend.

In the quieter moments of this week, I’ve been agonising over my title after a friend commented on Monday: “you only have a working title? God, that stresses me out!” Whilst I’m trying to see the entire project as a work-in-progress (I have a post-it note stuck to my computer monitor which reminds me progress not perfection) I think I may also have stumbled across a suitably obtuse title: Placemaking in the Mainstream: Rectifying spatial disparities in access to arts and culture in England. 

The aim of the project is to investigate the relationship between Arts Council England’s Let’s Create strategy and the Government’s Levelling Up agenda in an attempt to assess how they both seek to address spatial disparities in the arts and culture sector. Currently, I’m finding myself quite torn about where I actually stand on some of the issues. In particular, the apparent closing of the gap between the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and the Arts Council as an Arm’s-Length-Body is disheartening at best, alarming at worst. As someone who is usually quite uncompromising in her views, however, I’m enjoying this research process as one where I feel I am able to genuinely learn and have fun with that.

Really, this post has been quite rambly and I hope to write something more towards the academic side of the academic blogging spectrum next week. I said, though, that I would post every week - and that I have done.

#dissertation #academic blog #academia

[holliewestwood]

Biting the Bullet

I write every day. Sharing that writing, however, is a truly terrifying prospect. Now that I am writing my Masters dissertation, I am being big and brave and starting my research blog.

For now, I will share musings on my research, documenting the process through half-formed ideas that may or may not make it into my final paper.

I'm going to try and get a post together about my project proposal by the end of the week.

#research blog #dissertation