Arts Council Chair Sir Peter Bazalgette will be talking about arts and cultural funding and the balance of support between London and the rest of England at the Watershed in Bristol on 13 November as part of the Bristol Festival of Ideas autumn season.
Arts Council Chair Sir Peter Bazalgette will be talking about arts and cultural funding and the balance of support between London and the rest of England at the Watershed in Bristol on 13 November as part of the Bristol Festival of Ideas autumn season.
The unique interview forms part of the mayor's series, which seeks to explore how the relationship between London and the cities works and how things could be made better. The event is free to attend.
The evening will begin with a discussion with Phil Gibby, Area Director, Arts Council England, South West; Councillor Simon Cook, Assistant Mayor (Business Change, Resources and the Arts); Pat Connor, BBC's Head of Development & Events for England; and Helen Legg, Spike Island. The group will be exploring recent government initiatives and potential for local economies with a look at arts and media as a case study.
The series of debates is timely as it comes just a week after the publication of the Commons Select Culture Media and Sport Committee's report into the work of the Arts Council which suggests a need to redress the balance of funding.
Sir Peter Bazalgette says of the publication: 'The report suggests that greater urgency is required around the rebalancing debate and we are pleased that it has acknowledged that we are tackling this, and that there is 'much to praise in the hard work of the Arts Council.
'We share the committee's desire for a speedy response to the historic challenges to rebalancing.'
Bristol Festival of Ideas - in association with the Observer - was established in 2004 by Arts Council England National portfolio organisation Bristol Cultural Development Partnership. It aims to stimulate people's minds and passions with an inspiring programme of discussion and debate throughout the year and an annual festival each May.
The Festival takes place in a range of venues across the city including the Arnolfini, the Watershed, St. George's, At-Bristol, the Council House, the Tobacco Factory, and the Victoria Rooms.
The Bristol Festival of Ideas emerged out of Bristol's bid to be Capital of Culture in 2008. Although the bid itself was not successful, the partners behind the project made the commitment to deliver as much of the programme as possible and once conceived the idea blossomed into continued delivery of strong and inspiring debate and discussion over the last ten years.
Bristol has however been successful in its bid to be European Green Capital 2015 and Bristol Cultural Development Partnership will be delivering an extraordinary and exciting programme of arts and cultural events in and around Bristol next year, supported with a grant of £744,564 from Arts Council England's Exceptional awards programme.
Renowned local artist Luke Jerram and the National Trust have just announced details of their landmark art project Withdrawn as part of the programme. From April 2015 visitors to Leigh Woods will experience an unexpected encounter with a flotilla of abandoned fishing boats installed in the depths of the woodland. The evocative and engaging installation will raise thoughts about climate change, extreme weather, changing ocean temperatures, falling fish stocks and our impact on the marine environment.
Phil Gibby, Area Director, South West, Arts Council England, said: This is an exciting and engaging project from an exceptional artist that we are delighted to see happen as part of the cultural programme for Bristol 2015. The Exceptional award is given to support projects of such ambition and with such national and international impact that it sits outside our normal funding routes. Putting culture right at the heart of Bristol's year as European Green Capital means many people will have an outstanding opportunity to connect with great art that encourages us all to think about the way we live.'
The project is subject to a planning application which has been submitted and is awaiting approval.