Voxpop

“Most museums’ lottery funding is allocated by other organisations, but the first 16 years of the arts council’s National Lottery investment transformed England’s arts landscape – £628m created new buildings such as the Lowry in Salford and Sage in Gateshead.

We invest to create art and culture in places with little provision, to tour great art, to create jobs for young people, and to help arts organisations develop sources of income. We do so in a way that fits together to create a national ecology. More than 70% of our lottery investment now goes outside London.”

“Lottery awards were originally to be granted on the basis of open application made independently of distributory bodies’ policies. Research showed the dangers of ‘substitution’, strongly suggesting the need for an arts distributor that was not the arts council.

Arts lottery initial phase capital funding was ‘new and additional’, but practice has drifted into supplementary funding and is now blatant substitution.

The Place report recommends an alternative model aligned with lottery directions for allocating funds taking account of social, economic and artistic imperative.

“It is important that grants are not given to those who shout the loudest and most eloquently, but to worthwhile projects that will truly benefit from the support.

Our sector is constantly striving to improve itself. No matter what a museum’s size, they all work hard to find new ways of caring for collections, engaging communities, increasing accessibility and keeping up with technology.

The major funding organisations are key partners in this, and we need to work together to ensure that all museums know about their grants, can apply confidently and are judged fairly.”

“The arts council’s structure and governance model has led directly to the loss of regional influence in funding decisions.

Fairness and balance are essential but it is also important to have local knowledge and insight to ensure that the least-engaged, communities, which are often those buying the most lottery tickets, can benefit.

The arts council should take inspiration from its own Creative People and Places fund, which backs the creation of bespoke programmes of high-quality activity designed and led by local people for their own area.”