Since the coalition took power here in the UK there's been a real hoo-hah about cuts in student funding and raises in fees. Riots, rucks with the royals, burning effigies you name it, someone somewhere in a hoodie has done it. But something that really has been bugging me and my partner Chris is the slashed funding for the Arts and Humanities. By the looks of it Britain is, via the university system, aiming to churn out a generation of bankers and politicians, who are after all still the best of friends. The UK government has always looked down on the arts, at school I had to fight for the right to study it at 'O' Level. In fact at my school, back in the 80's, our cane whacking, mortar boarded, wannabe public school Headmaster insisted that I couldn't study all the arts and humanities at the same time, as if no one could make a career from creativity alone.
It seems the craze for abolishing art from our lives is spreading. Right wing America has always baulked at the notion of public funding for the arts, they might finally have their way. The Huffington Post reported a few days ago that 'Conservative Republicans Propose Eliminating Arts And Culture Funding'.
Imagine how society will function without the insights of the creatively endowed. You don't have to, just take a look at the peak of Communist Russia. Every single scribble had to include Stalin or Lenin or a depiction of the proverbial 'workers uniting' or you were sent off to the salt mines for acts of subversion, coercion and treason.
The funding of the arts makes up a minuscule percentage of the GDP for most countries in The West. Something probably akin to the street cleaning budget. Most people don't notice the influence of art in their culture, perhaps a few concerts and the odd gallery, but once the arts fade away like some kind of outdated religion it will become painfully obvious just how much society relies on the creative mindset. Art is the lifeblood of culture, and culture is the oldest free exchange of ideas that mankind knows. Without it we'll devolve as a race, half of America and a third of the UK doesn't even trust the scientific data on Global Warming, what hope will they have when the nearest they get to art is potato painting with the kids and a few local craft fairs?
If you want to do something about it, (not that people power seems to count unless you want to stop a Simon Cowell approved pop star from getting a No.1 at Xmas) you can get started at one of these sites:
