A Concern

by Ruth Barker, 8 Dec 2009

Last week I learnt that Arts Council England have decided to stop funding Public Art South West – a development agency that many feel has been a valuable resource and an important part of the contemporary public art landscape.

Here’s what ACE said in their press release:

“Public Art South West has provided a very successful service over the last 12 years. It has made a significant contribution to the south west in particular, where the value of public art is now widely accepted by both public and private sectors and increasingly delivered by a wide range of bodies.

“However, in the context of the Arts Council’s organisation review, with the need to save £6.5 million, it has been decided that the Arts Council should no longer deliver this and similar services directly. We will however aim to continue to provide advice around commissioning.

“Public Art South West will continue until the end of March 2010. Meanwhile we will be considering how we ensure the continuation of Public Art Online which was established by and has been run by Public Art South West for ten years.”

It seems that ACE no longer feel that Public Art South West is delivering a service that they are able to support, I assume because PASW no longers fits comfortably into new ACE structures. Apparently there will be an article in a-n in the near future that explores the development, but though it seems already too late to retain PASW, we must also stress the uncertainty attached to the future of Public Art Online.

Public Art Online offers a particular resource in the form of relatively objective case-studies and a wide pallet of available information. If PAO ceases to exist, this unique position will be lost and with it will be jettisoned one of the multiplicity of voices that I believe are needed in order to represent the complexity of contemporary practices. PAO’s Director Maggie Bolt is obviously concerned that a specific perspective will be missed if the site disappears, along with an online tool intended to be accessible to all – not just the artworld.

Do go check out Public Art Online if you haven’t already. It’s a great site, with lots of interesting bits and pieces on it. I don’t have any contact details or a web address you can go to if you want to express displeasure or concern. You could try Arts Council England but I’ve heard they deliver a standard response.

If anyone does know any more, do let us know. I’ll keep you up to date with anything I hear on the grapevine.

more later,
R