Liz Forgan, the outgoing chair of Arts Council England (ACE), has used her farewell speech to accuse the English education secretary Michael Gove of abandoning cultural education after the arts were excluded as core subjects in the English Baccalaureate (Ebacc) certificate.
In a strongly worded valedictory lecture at the British Museum entitled A Farewell to the Arts, Forgan spoke of her alarm at the absence of culture from the new qualification.
She said it left children’s education “dangerously exposed” and risked “robbing a generation of its birthright and failing in the duty we all have to continue our culture”.
Forgan continued: “Just as we let a whole generation lose the capacity to cook so we are in danger of making the same break in the transmission of our cultural language.”
The Ebacc, which is slated to completely replace GCSEs by 2017, is currently awarded to 16-year-old pupils who gain good GCSE grades in maths, English, two sciences, languages and the humanities.
By excluding subjects such as art, design and drama, she said, “a big red signal is hoisted saying with total clarity, 'We don't care'."
Leading figures in the arts and creative industries have expressed deep concern that arts subjects will be sidelined by schools if they don’t count towards the certificate.
Forgan pointed out that 15% of schools have already dropped one or more arts subjects since the Ebacc was first introduced in 2011.
She said that the education secretary had “the determination and brilliance to make a difference" and called on him to “publish a proper, published speech officially setting out his belief in the importance of cultural education”.
Forgan added: “A modest investment in the continuing and renewing of the culture of western civilisation would be a huge boost to struggling heads and young people who are being starved of the arts in their teenage years.”
Elsewhere in her lecture, Forgan took some parting shots at what she sees as political interference in the cultural sector.
Forgan’s dismissal by former culture secretary Jeremy Hunt last year was widely viewed as politically-motivated because of her perceived closeness to the previous Labour government.
She advised her successor, TV producer Peter Bazelgette, that the role of arts council chair was to “patrol the ramparts like a panther to protect the arm's length principle and freedom of artists from the considerations of party politics".
Forgan lamented that fact that politicians “on the whole are bad at culture” and that most culture secretaries “haven't had much interest in culture and wish they were somewhere else serious".
She continued: “It should never be thought disloyal for a culture secretary or an arts council chair to beat the drum for funding for culture, even if it does annoy the chancellor.”
Forgan went on to urge the government not to cut the arts budget further, saying: “A modest investment in the arts pays back in hard currency and tradeable assets – a global reputation for excellence and places that are attractive to people to live, work and invest in.
“So don’t slash the arts budget. The saving is far too tiny to make any impact on the serious challenges in the national budget and the damage is deep and lasting."
Museums Association director Mark Taylor said of the lecture: "It was a passionate defence of the role of the state in funding the arts. What was more interesting was Liz Forgan's assertion that the long term role and support for culture in England is threatened by the lack of any support for the arts in the new Ebacc proposals.
"Let us hope that her successor shows the same spirit and determination."
Amendment
16.01.2013
This article was edited to include a comment from Mark Taylor.
In a strongly worded valedictory lecture at the British Museum entitled A Farewell to the Arts, Forgan spoke of her alarm at the absence of culture from the new qualification.
She said it left children’s education “dangerously exposed” and risked “robbing a generation of its birthright and failing in the duty we all have to continue our culture”.
Forgan continued: “Just as we let a whole generation lose the capacity to cook so we are in danger of making the same break in the transmission of our cultural language.”
The Ebacc, which is slated to completely replace GCSEs by 2017, is currently awarded to 16-year-old pupils who gain good GCSE grades in maths, English, two sciences, languages and the humanities.
By excluding subjects such as art, design and drama, she said, “a big red signal is hoisted saying with total clarity, 'We don't care'."
Leading figures in the arts and creative industries have expressed deep concern that arts subjects will be sidelined by schools if they don’t count towards the certificate.
Forgan pointed out that 15% of schools have already dropped one or more arts subjects since the Ebacc was first introduced in 2011.
She said that the education secretary had “the determination and brilliance to make a difference" and called on him to “publish a proper, published speech officially setting out his belief in the importance of cultural education”.
Forgan added: “A modest investment in the continuing and renewing of the culture of western civilisation would be a huge boost to struggling heads and young people who are being starved of the arts in their teenage years.”
Elsewhere in her lecture, Forgan took some parting shots at what she sees as political interference in the cultural sector.
Forgan’s dismissal by former culture secretary Jeremy Hunt last year was widely viewed as politically-motivated because of her perceived closeness to the previous Labour government.
She advised her successor, TV producer Peter Bazelgette, that the role of arts council chair was to “patrol the ramparts like a panther to protect the arm's length principle and freedom of artists from the considerations of party politics".
Forgan lamented that fact that politicians “on the whole are bad at culture” and that most culture secretaries “haven't had much interest in culture and wish they were somewhere else serious".
She continued: “It should never be thought disloyal for a culture secretary or an arts council chair to beat the drum for funding for culture, even if it does annoy the chancellor.”
Forgan went on to urge the government not to cut the arts budget further, saying: “A modest investment in the arts pays back in hard currency and tradeable assets – a global reputation for excellence and places that are attractive to people to live, work and invest in.
“So don’t slash the arts budget. The saving is far too tiny to make any impact on the serious challenges in the national budget and the damage is deep and lasting."
Museums Association director Mark Taylor said of the lecture: "It was a passionate defence of the role of the state in funding the arts. What was more interesting was Liz Forgan's assertion that the long term role and support for culture in England is threatened by the lack of any support for the arts in the new Ebacc proposals.
"Let us hope that her successor shows the same spirit and determination."
Amendment
16.01.2013
This article was edited to include a comment from Mark Taylor.
