Vox pop

“The new chair of Arts Council England (ACE) joins at a critical moment for the organisation as it enters the new relationship with its national portfolio organisations (such as the Towner, where I work) and takes on its new responsibilities for the museum and library sectors. 

Having made some brave decisions last year, and now having to face cuts of its own, ACE needs to re-articulate its arm’s-length role. It needs to champion the excellence of the arts achieved through its funding, and drive shared standards for its investment.

While strong governance and resilience is fundamental for the arts in these straitened times, ACE urgently needs to define its future role as a smaller organisation, not overburdened and purely focused on administrative functions.”


“One of the major priorities has to be how to successfully integrate the museum sector into the arts council portfolio. I am concerned that it is a step change for the organisation and that, in the interim, while getting to grips with our challenges, there will be a period of non-activity, a lack of recognition of issues which we can ill afford.

Another priority is to try and simplify the funding structure for everyone. There are so many different strands which have appeared over the past few months that even those people who consider themselves clued up are looking rather bemused by what is going on.

And finally, transparency – no more decisions that leave people confused and disenfranchised.”


“The first thing the next chair of ACE should do, as a reality check against all the talk of philanthropy and digital technology, is come to a Social History Curators Group event and hear first-hand from our members who are facing cuts to their services and struggling to understand how the arts council can help them in their work.

The new chair must understand and act to bridge the cultural gap between museums and the arts. Unlike most arts organisations, we do not measure success only by the currency of our public programmes, but also by the long-term development of our collections.

ACE can’t just pick winners but must find a way to support all if collections of great cultural value are not to be squandered or lost.”


“Stepping into Forgan’s shoes must be a daunting task at the best of times, but the new ACE chair will be facing a once-in-a-lifetime set of challenges and opportunities.

In terms of the challenges, the first priority must be dealing with the impact of reduced arts and culture budgets – not just ACE’s own funding streams and revenue, but local authority  and university budgets and the demise of the RDAs, all of which add significant pressures to organisations ACE is committed to supporting.

The wider tourism agenda must be seen as another key priority.
However, the opportunities should not be underestimated. For the first time, there is one voice for culture in England and museums will certainly benefit from that.”