Redistributing the budget is one thing, but taking it away entirely is a fatal blow that Birmingham’s cultural sector may not be able to revive from. Home to many major organisations, such as Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and Royal Ballet, this decision will not be so easily swept under the rug and the city’s cultural figures have already expressed their outrage. Comedian Joe Lycett called the cuts “a short-termist national disgrace” and he certainly wasn’t joking there.
It begs the question – Why are the Arts always first to face the chopping board?
As a poet myself, it’s disconcerting and pretty soul-crushing to hear news like this. The council’s plans are reminiscent of that wonderful government poster which circulated the internet during 2020 – the one with the ballerina who’s ‘next job could be in cyber’. Artists have enough imposter syndrome as it is simply trying to make a name for themselves, never mind being told to ‘Rethink. Reskill. Reboot’ for society’s betterment. The question surrounding how important the Arts are has always confused me; to deny self-expression is to deny the self. I guess that’s how capitalism works. Yet, the elites harbour first-edition novels and rare paintings so fervently - it can’t be so meaningless then, right? Art is cultural capital. A free visit to the art gallery connects us on a level entirely different to a textbook and watching a play can make dull, inaccessible Shakespeare, light-up on stage. Our sector is first to face the government’s chopping board because they think we will die-out silently. I mean, that’s kind of ironic. They’ve clearly never met a musical-theatre nerd. Their ear-drums would remember if they had.
The North of Tyne Combined Authority does the opposite, spring-boarding the Arts with their ‘Culture and Creative Investment Programme.’ The programme is open to creative freelancers and businesses in North Tyneside, Northumberland and Newcastle. In partnership with Creative UK, NTCA look to the Arts as a significant economic sector in the post-Covid world and to widen the national creative market. Caroline Norbury MBE, CEO and Founder of Creative UK, aims to “grow the enormous creative potential in this region” and reading such words like this is a flicker of hope in the burning embers of Birmingham’s Arts budget. Whilst there’s a lot more work to be done in giving creatives the respect they deserve, the North East isn’t afraid to invest in us, even if it is a tentative investment. £2.6 million certainly doesn’t amount to £300 million, but that’s only the beginning and is a gain rather than a loss. I find the ‘potential’ Caroline Norbury speaks of every-day in the North’s living, breathing poetry community and, as sub-editor, I’m amazed at the talent our university itself has to offer for us to showcase every week in The Courier alone. Dear artists, we love you.
