Artists and arts organisations need to be rethinking their plans for their business if they have a significant reliance on public sector funding. Individuals in particular need to be concerned as I have heard a stat that public sector funding for artists will decline by 44% in 2010/11. Arts Quarter are carrying a survey on this here which should keep you posted. ACE is under huge pressure with the third year of their settlement not finalised, all local authorities are facing massive budgetary problems and trusts and charities are being hit by low interest rates. There’s not a lot of good news and the recession will impact later as public budgets are set. That is why ACE has set up Sustain, but this is of use only to organisations. Now more than ever artists need to be innovative, commercial and take a portmanteau approach to building their careers and businesses.
Keith Jeffrey
Director, QUAD
