What's so special about the arts?
A new podcast - Arts First - looks at freedom of expression, funding boycotts and the use and abuse of art for social change...
While boycotts of arts institutions are nothing new - from eco activists targeting museums and galleries for fossil-fuel sponsorship to #MeToo inspired protests - the row over Baillie Gifford’s sponsorship of the Hay Festival marked something of a shift. Suddenly everyone, from Guardian journalists to politicians had something to say about the need to maintain a line between art and politics. Perhaps it was because this time it was literary festivals being targeted, which serve as both important events for authors and networking sites for literature’s giltterati. The question is, what happens to the arts when corporate sponsorship becomes untenable? Should organisations hold their nerve against such protests, or does big business funding creative industries represent a real problem?
Having run several lively and successful London-based salons for many years, the Academy of Ideas Arts&Society Forum now want to extend our discussions about issues like this into the world of podcasting. And so, we introduce to you a new podcast series: Arts First.
In our first episode, we discuss why several literary festivals have cancelled their partnerships with major philanthropic funder Baillie Gifford. We’ll also talk about Tate Britain’s exhibition on four centuries of women artists.
The aim of the podcast is to explore what is unique and special about the arts, and to challenge the contemporary view of the arts as tools for social change. We aim to highlight the various ways in which freedom of expression is being compromised by political activism and institutional cowardice. We also want to celebrate, wherever we can, new artistic achievement and courage in the face of today’s challenges.
In subsequent episodes, we want to consider how constraints on freedom of expression are affecting the arts in all their forms. We will also explore the crisis of critical judgement - for example, why does Banksy get so much more credit than he deserves?
In this first episode, we’re joined by the art critic JJ Charlesworth; designer and writer, Niall Crowley; artist and art history teacher, Dido Powell; writer and broadcaster, Tiffany Jenkins and me, Wendy Earle, convenor of the Arts&Society Forum.
You can click on any of the logos below to listen.
You can also listen to our first episode wherever you get your podcasts - like and share with your friends and we, of course, welcome constructive feedback and suggestions from our listeners.
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