"Culture is not trivial, it’s about who we are"

[Ondine]

I am not posting this to be political.

 

However, I agree wholeheartedly that 'culture' and the arts in this country are battered by cuts and other issues; I'm always pleased when a major newspaper publishes a column such as this.

 

Charlotte Higgins is the Guardian’s chief culture writer

 

No paywall. Free to read.

 

Culture is not trivial, it’s about who we are. That’s why Labour needs a plan to save the arts | Charlotte Higgins

 

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/nov/26/culture-labour-plan-save-the-arts-tory-cuts?CMP=share_btn_tw

 

It is about giving people back public space – space in which they can exit their digital echo chambers and together confront unfamiliar, difficult ideas. It is about offering people ideas beyond their immediate experience – ideas that can bring delight, hope and joy, but also spark individuals’ ambitions, or suggest possibilities beyond their immediate horizon. It is about offering people the chance to live with dignity, to be better citizens who treat each other with decency and understanding. It is the stuff of being fully human.

 

 

 

[alison]

I was about to post something about the harm it must be doing not to allow our young people to engage with ways of expressing themselves in an educational situation, but I think Ms Higgins says it better than I could.  I certainly recognise all of this:

 

"Experts in preserving a good shopfront, our museums, theatres, orchestras and galleries have done their best to conceal the rot from the casual visitor. But they are damaged; they are shabbier, smaller, more timid than they used to be. [...]  The Covid years in particular mean that fewer children are being exposed to theatre or music or dance or art: those things that can spark a child’s imagination, show her something curious and strange, deepen her understanding and empathy, shift the course of her life."

[jmhopton]

Yes. I was very impressed by this article and hope the next government can take these important points on board. As the author says, culture can improve people's lives, their sense of community and their mental health for relatively small sums of money, whether it's enjoying a performance or helping out backstage. It's also important that children are exposed to different art forms from a young age so they can decide for themselves what they enjoy.  No early exposure risks many young people growing up thinking the Arts are not for them which is tragic for future performers and audiences. 

[Blossom]

Linking to this, there's also a campaign from The Society of London Theatre/UK Theatre which launched in October which will be lobbying for the next Government to ensure that every child gets to experience theatre. From their launch toolkit:

 

Launch-Toolkit.pdf (uktheatre.org)

 

Every child has the right to experience and enjoy our country’s world-leading theatre. • SOLT & UK Theatre want every child to attend the theatre by the time they leave school. • Ahead of the next general election, we ask all political parties to commit to this pledge by ring fencing funding, to support schools to bridge the funding gap that currently exists for theatre trips. • There is strong evidence that going to the theatre provides cultural enrichment, has educational benefits, helps to build empathy, promotes well-being, and supports the growth of our economy. • For the theatre sector, ensuring that all young people have the experience of going to the theatre will inspire future audiences and our future workforce, helping to address skills shortages.

 

The aim is to 

• Provide cultural enrichment
• Spark interest in careers in theatre and address skills shortage
• Boost audience figures
• Support economic growth

Despite challenging economic circumstances and the battle for every penny of Government budgets allocated, this campaign is about securing the future of such an important part of the economy. 

[DVDfan]

This reminds me a bit of the push to get people into sports, and the reason it does is that I don't take part in any activity defined as culture because I have no talent. Olympic champions talk the talk, but when in action what they actually mean is talent. They don't mean sport for fun and exercise, they mean winners. And most of us are loosers, inevitably. I feel that most people engaged in culture have a similar focus. Look at the difficulty of finding somewhere to sing classical music if you can't pass the audition. They tell you that the best way to learn to sing, or sing better, is to join  a choral society, but you won't find one that doesn't audition. And if you do manage to slip into a come and sing event, a lot of people who can sing get very ratty if they're next to someone who is struggling. 

So I think that in education, when engaged with children in dance, music or theatre, there has to be a certain openess and value placed on simply taking part. The talented should be able to move on to more demanding things, of course, but the rest should know they are wanted and welcome. The teacher has to believe that there is equal value to the pupils, no matter how useless they are at the activity, and that those pupils are as worthy of their attention as the star of the class. And I think this is something that is lacking - musicians for example are very dismissive of the non-musical.

 

The other thing is money. I gather that De Valois toured her company during the war, performing in church halls with two pianos - I think we do have to get back to some of that if ballet and other arts are to be truly accessible. People will spend a tenner out of curiosity, they won't fork out for train fares, hotels and a hundred pounds on top of that for a ticket for something they don't know they're going to enjoy - and that's assuming that they have that money to spend in the first place. A lot don't.

[bridiem]

1 hour ago, DVDfan said:

They tell you that the best way to learn to sing, or sing better, is to join  a choral society, but you won't find one that doesn't audition.

 

I agree with what you've said, DVDfan, except for this sentence. Maybe I was lucky, but I was a member of a choral society for many years despite being an extremely average (being kind to myself) singer - it had no auditions in spite of being run by a serious musician and attracting some good singers (and the good singers on the whole supported the less good). Maybe that was because when I joined it was run as a local authority evening class; when funding for that was no longer forthcoming, we went independent and it became much more of a struggle to survive. Unfortunately I can no longer sing now for health reasons. But I do think that there are still at least some local choirs/community choirs that do not require auditions, and it's the most wonderful activity both in terms of music and achieving something as a group. (But I do agree that at higher levels, musicians are often dismissive of non-musicians!). But it does demonstrate the importance of funding at local levels, not just for the talented but for anyone who wants to either participate in or just experience music/theatre/dance.

[Emeralds]

I'd say many church choirs for adults (not the cathedral choirs with child choristers which are serious ensembles) or community choirs will take anyone who is willing to turn up and practise a bit (often "a bit" can mean as little as 20 minutes before the service or just 40-50 minutes after/in between services, together with tea and biscuits during breaks). Not sure how but I have joined two choirs at different times without ever being asked to audition. You don't need a great voice or even great pitch to be able to sing in most amateur choirs. I have a relative who is tone deaf who sang in one for ages! (And the choir sounded good nonetheless!) It's good fun if you have a welcoming group of people so do look for one and go for it, @DVDfan, if you (or/and a family member/friend) are really interested in having a go. Just to say the auditions if they ask to hear you sing are usually not scary either- usually it's just to see which range of notes you are comfortable singing to work out which section to put you in. Apart from the high level/professional standard choirs, you don't need to be able to read music....most of the people I know who joined amateur choirs don't. 

[Blossom]

5 hours ago, DVDfan said:

 

 

The other thing is money. I gather that De Valois toured her company during the war, performing in church halls with two pianos - I think we do have to get back to some of that if ballet and other arts are to be truly accessible. People will spend a tenner out of curiosity, they won't fork out for train fares, hotels and a hundred pounds on top of that for a ticket for something they don't know they're going to enjoy - and that's assuming that they have that money to spend in the first place. A lot don't.

I am a strong believer in this - and this is why BRB2 and the upcoming plans for London City Ballet are so important.

[Blossom]

Just to say as well in terms of the value of taking part, arts appreciation is as important as taking part/doing.

I failed miserably at getting either of my daughters to enjoy taking ballet classes - or any form of dance - but one of them hugely enjoys the theatre. I've always taken her to ballet and dance so she is one of the lucky ones who has been in a theatre. She has friends from her previous state school who had never been to the theatre before  by the age of 16, so now that she is participating in some of their cheap ticket schemes I am pushing her to prioritise them to go with her. They are unlikely to instigate trips themselves but I hope at least they will be able to recall their experience. Bear in mind one of the friends I particularly have in mind is studying English at A Level so the experience could really be elevated by seeing what she is studying on stage.

Daughter #2 is more discerning (or less, based on the sorts of things she will happily see at the theatre) these days but I did get her to a number of ballets to experience them live and to experience a live orchestra, as well as concerts and musicals.

Son is still a work in progress - still has to come to what he is told to! He is enjoying literature in year 7 and is exploring creativity despite being dyslexic and having ADHD. He writes incredibly creatively despite atrocious spelling (SEN driven) and somewhat enjoys art (but not being told what to do while he is building his technical skills) and his creativity just needs nurturing through experience - and this might just drive him towards a creative career. With a different parent, this might not happen. 

 

Parental apathy is a huge issue. At my eldest's previous state school, I organised a trip to Shakespeare's Globe for as many of my daughter's gcse year who would want to participate in a tour and workshop on one of the teacher strike days. Of a year of 90 students, we managed to scrape 16-20 as part of the group. In many cases, parents couldn't see the value of pushing their reluctant children to join. Those who did join really benefitted from the experience of understanding how plays were performed then, understanding the context of the theatre itself and also participating in a sort of drama exercise workshop to explore themes relevant to the questions they would be asked.  Given the  students live a maximum of 1 hour travel time from the Globe (London postcodes) this just baffled me.  

 

 

 

[MAB]

There have been no fewer than twelve ministers of culture in the past thirteen years.  Without resorting to Google, how many of you can name half of them?  A failing of the present government no doubt.  But wait a minute, these ministers aren't just ministers of culture, they are also ministers of media and sport.  Culture and media I just about get, but sport?  The sole culture portfolio was abolished by Blair in 1997, thereby diminishing the importance of the role.

 

Personally I feel that hoping for improvement under the other lot will lead to disappointment.

[FionaM]

News from Watershed independent cinema in Bristol that the local council will cease their financial support in 2023/24.  
 

This was the only cinema in Bristol to show ENB’s film of Creature. It was sold out.  

[Ondine]

7 hours ago, FionaM said:

News from Watershed independent cinema in Bristol that the local council will cease their financial support in 2023/24.  

 

Sad isn't it?

 

I see Nottingham Council has declared itself bust.

 

I think many others will follow. There simply is not the cash to even provide the basic services let alone anything else.

 

 

[Scheherezade]

Following Suffolk Council’s plan to axe its entire arts and culture budget, and Middlesbrough Council‘s bankruptcy warning, Shadow Culture Secretary Thangam Debbonaire has described recent arts funding cuts as cultural vandalism and pledged that a Labour government will prioritise arts funding and work to identify new funding sources for arts and culture. 

Edited January 12 by Scheherezade

[Sim]

3 minutes ago, Scheherezade said:

Following Suffolk Council’s plan to axe its entire arts and culture budget, and Middlesbrough Council‘s bankruptcy warning, Shadow Culture Secretary Thangam Debbonaire has described recent arts funding cuts as cultural vandalism and pledged that a Labour government will prioritise arts funding and work to identify new funding sources for arts and culture. 

Let's hope this is true and not just electioneering.  I have long since stopped believing politicians of every leaning, so please excuse my scepticism!

[LinMM]

I know Brighton Council is just about to announce it is in dire straits with only money for absolute “essential” services likely to be available. 
 

I too am getting more and more “disillusioned” with all things political at the moment but my living experience so far is that the Arts definitely seem to fair better generally speaking especially at community level under a Labour Government. 

 

Edited January 12 by LinMM

[Scheherezade]

38 minutes ago, Sim said:

Let's hope this is true and not just electioneering.  I have long since stopped believing politicians of every leaning, so please excuse my scepticism!

Agreed. And I am the world’s greatest sceptic but thought the report worth mentioning nonetheless. 

[Suffolkgal]

You might all want to write to Suffolk county council which is cutting its funding to arts and archives … the drop in the ocean to them of 500k which will have a massive effect of the organisations affected. We’re fighting…

[Mary]

It's very worrying. I am guessing Gary Avis will not be impressed, great stalwart of the arts in Suffolk (Ipswich I think) and always very generous with his time in Suffolk arts causes.

[Dawnstar]

9 hours ago, Mary said:

It's very worrying. I am guessing Gary Avis will not be impressed, great stalwart of the arts in Suffolk (Ipswich I think) and always very generous with his time in Suffolk arts causes.

 

Going by a number of his recent tweets, he certainly sounds unhappy about it. For example:

 

 

[Blossom]

On 12/01/2024 at 12:05, Scheherezade said:

Following Suffolk Council’s plan to axe its entire arts and culture budget, and Middlesbrough Council‘s bankruptcy warning, Shadow Culture Secretary Thangam Debbonaire has described recent arts funding cuts as cultural vandalism and pledged that a Labour government will prioritise arts funding and work to identify new funding sources for arts and culture. 

‘Arts bring people together and you don’t realise how important it is until you lose it’ Yuhui Choe, Royal Ballet ‘Covid’ gala

[LinMM]

I remember I got quite emotional at my first performance back at ROH after Covid!! 

[Jan McNulty]

15 hours ago, Blossom said:

‘Arts bring people together and you don’t realise how important it is until you lose it’ Yuhui Choe, Royal Ballet ‘Covid’ gala

 

2 hours ago, LinMM said:

I remember I got quite emotional at my first performance back at ROH after Covid!! 

 

 

My first performance back was Northern Ballet at the Leeds Playhouse - one of the experimental performances with the house about a quarter full.  I think I cried right the way through this joyous occasion.

[LinMM]

There was so much pent up emotion around just after Covid. 

I lost my first real mentor/ballet teacher in 2020 ( though not from Covid!) so would never be being taught by him any more😥
I got emotional in my first class back in the studio here in Brighton after doing a year of classes on zoom (involving three teachers) and then again in my first class back up in London with a much valued teacher up there. Joy and sorrow are so closely linked! 
 

[Blossom]

3 hours ago, Jan McNulty said:

 

 

 

My first performance back was Northern Ballet at the Leeds Playhouse - one of the experimental performances with the house about a quarter full.  I think I cried right the way through this joyous occasion.

I also got quite emotional when I went back to ROH and Sadlers Wells for BRB and ENB (I don't recall which was first of BRB and ENB as one of them is missing from my log), but mostly, I felt I could breathe again. Whatever was on was not enough. There was lots of racing to buy tickets for different performances at ROH to catch them before they were locked down again. It also changed my relationship with Nutcracker which I was bored of but now had new meaning.