ACE to merge goals for museums and the arts
New strategic document due in autumn
Arts Council England (ACE) is in the process of combining its key goals for museums, libraries and the arts into one document.
The arts council plans to replace its two key strategic documents, Achieving great art for everyone and Culture, knowledge and understanding – both published in 2011 - with one vision that applies to investment across all of its artforms.
The revised document is due to be released this autumn ahead of the arts council’s next round of investment in 2015-18, which will open for applications in January 2014.
A spokesman from ACE said: “This will be the strategy that lies behind our future investment following 2015. It won’t impact existing funding relationships we have with Major Partner Museums (MPMs) and Renaissance-funded projects, but will of course impact the future investments we make.”
The arts council is currently consulting with representative bodies to ensure the goals apply across the cultural sector.
Museums Association director Mark Taylor discussed the change in criteria during a meeting with ACE earlier this week.
Taylor said: “Now that ACE are about to enter into a new three-year funding round they, rightly, want a combined set of goals. This is important because they take these goals very seriously, using them not just as a corporate identity but as benchmarking for funding.”
Taylor said he would be meeting with the arts council again shortly to discuss how the goals should relate to museum sector.
He said: “The arts council’s aim is that the language and underlying philosophies of museums, particularly around collections, are an integral part of the new book so museums stand an equal chance of applying for strategic funding.
“I am sure we can come up with goals that ring true across the whole cultural sector.”
MPMs and National Portfolio Organisations (NPOs) will continue to be separate funding streams and ACE says it will publish further information to help potential applicants decide which scheme is right for them.
The overall budget for NPOs and MPMs will be reduced by 5% in real terms in 2015/16. Levels of government funding beyond that year are yet to be confirmed.
Strategic touring programme
Meanwhile the latest recipients of funding from the arts council's £45m Strategic touring programme have been revealed. The arts council awarded just over £900,000 to eight projects in the current round.
The National Portrait Gallery was among the successful applicants, winning £250,000 to tour an exhibition of photographs of poets to six venues in the North, Midlands, South East and London.
The arts council plans to replace its two key strategic documents, Achieving great art for everyone and Culture, knowledge and understanding – both published in 2011 - with one vision that applies to investment across all of its artforms.
The revised document is due to be released this autumn ahead of the arts council’s next round of investment in 2015-18, which will open for applications in January 2014.
A spokesman from ACE said: “This will be the strategy that lies behind our future investment following 2015. It won’t impact existing funding relationships we have with Major Partner Museums (MPMs) and Renaissance-funded projects, but will of course impact the future investments we make.”
The arts council is currently consulting with representative bodies to ensure the goals apply across the cultural sector.
Museums Association director Mark Taylor discussed the change in criteria during a meeting with ACE earlier this week.
Taylor said: “Now that ACE are about to enter into a new three-year funding round they, rightly, want a combined set of goals. This is important because they take these goals very seriously, using them not just as a corporate identity but as benchmarking for funding.”
Taylor said he would be meeting with the arts council again shortly to discuss how the goals should relate to museum sector.
He said: “The arts council’s aim is that the language and underlying philosophies of museums, particularly around collections, are an integral part of the new book so museums stand an equal chance of applying for strategic funding.
“I am sure we can come up with goals that ring true across the whole cultural sector.”
MPMs and National Portfolio Organisations (NPOs) will continue to be separate funding streams and ACE says it will publish further information to help potential applicants decide which scheme is right for them.
The overall budget for NPOs and MPMs will be reduced by 5% in real terms in 2015/16. Levels of government funding beyond that year are yet to be confirmed.
Strategic touring programme
Meanwhile the latest recipients of funding from the arts council's £45m Strategic touring programme have been revealed. The arts council awarded just over £900,000 to eight projects in the current round.
The National Portrait Gallery was among the successful applicants, winning £250,000 to tour an exhibition of photographs of poets to six venues in the North, Midlands, South East and London.