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McMaster report: Supporting Excellence in the Arts

Sir Brain McMaster was asked by the Secretary of State:

• How the system of public sector support for the arts can encourage excellence, risk-taking and innovation;
• How artistic excellence can encourage wider and deeper engagement with the arts by audiences;
• How to establish a light touch and non-bureaucratic method to judge the quality of the arts in the future.

He has just published his report, which I think all arts boards and practioners interested in public funding (and of course the public funders who I am sure will read it) should read it. It is not without several controversies and I am undecided about many of the recommendations but it is a n excellent starting point for the debate.

Here are McMaster’s recommendations from the report and a link to Michael Billington’s comments:

… innovation and risk-taking be at the centre of the funding and assessment framework for every organisation, large or small.

… funding bodies and arts organisations prioritise excellent, diverse work that truly grows out of and represents the Britain of the 21st Century

… funding bodies and arts organisations act as the guardians of artists’ freedom of expression, and provide the appropriate support to deal with what can be a hostile reaction to their work.

… the Arts Council, the British Council and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport work together to investigate and implement an international strategy that stimulates greater international exchange, brings the best of world culture here and takes the best of our culture to the world.

… the board of every cultural organisation contains at least two artists and/or practitioners.

I recommend the setting up of a Knowledge Bank which could be called upon by boards to feed into and support the appointment process and to advise on potential candidates.

… all funding bodies have and take up the right to be involved in the appointment processes of the organisations they fund.

… cultural organisations be proactive in meeting the extra demand for their work that the ‘cultural offer’ will generate. They must ensure that the activity that makes up this offer is of the highest standard, reflecting the diversity and internationalism I highlight in this report.

… the cost of mentoring for senior appointments should be a standard feature of any recruitment budget.

…since cultural organisations have a vested interest in and responsibility for supporting and developing talent, they should be providing free or discounted tickets to aspiring practitioners.

… funding bodies explore the potential for international co-operation that allows young practitioners to see more work abroad.

… funding bodies, organisations and practitioners prioritise opportunities for continuing professional development throughout careers.

… practitioners take responsibility for the cultural ecology and actively engage with the development of their peers and the next generation.

… DCMS and the Arts Council work with HM Treasury towards a new scheme for the ten organisations with the most innovative ambition to receive ten year funding to further that ambition.

… funding bodies actively identify innovative ways for new talent to be identified and funded.

… to overcome the endemic ‘it’s not for me’ syndrome and building on the success of free admission to museums and galleries, for one week admission prices are removed from publicly funded organisations.

… practitioners communicating about their work be the primary tool of any programme of audience engagement.

… cultural organisations stop exploiting the tendency of many audiences to accept a superficial experience and foster a relationship founded on innovative, exciting and challenging work.

… the Public Service Broadcasting review examines the extent of the cultural provision provided by public service broadcasters.

… a new way forward be found that reclaims a strategic approach to touring, while exploiting the regional structures created by the Arts Council’s reorganisation.

… the touring of exhibitions is encouraged and implemented strategically.

… the funding bodies, jointly with representatives of cultural organisations, develop good-practice guidelines for self-assessment. These should focus primarily on the excellence of the art and commitment to innovation and risk-taking.

… to complement the culture of self-assessment, funding bodies institute a system of peer review. I suggest all regularly funded organisations should be reviewed by peers on a cyclical basis and that the process is managed by the funding body.

… funder intervention where organisations are failing, setting fixed conditions for funding or, in extremis, its removal entirely, and that this be acknowledged in funding agreements.

… funding decisions made by all funding bodies (DCMS, Arts Council, MLA) are based on professional judgements of what is and what is not excellent.

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  • About me

    I'm a playwright and investment analyst. I have a broad range of interests: food, gardening, innovation & intellectual property, sustainability, architecture & design, writing and the arts. I sit on the board of Talawa Theatre Company and advise a CIS investment trust on socially responsible investments.

  • Recent Work

    Recent plays include, for theatre: Nakamitsu, Yellow Gentlemen, Lost in Peru, Lemon Love. For radio: Places in Between (R4), Patent Breaking Life Saving (WS).

  • Nakamitsu

  • Yellow Gentlemen