Artists and policy-making: the English case

Abstract

The 1980 UNESCO Recommendation concerning the Status of the Artist emphasised the importance of including artists in the policy-making process. However, 30 years later, evidence suggests that artists often have only marginal involvement in the policy-making of UNESCO member states. This paper explores how visual artists in England relate to arts policy-making. An overview is provided of how artists fared in arts policy during the 50 years following the creation of the Arts Council of Great Britain (ACGB) in 1946. A more detailed account is then given of how visual artists featured in the policy-making of Arts Council England (ACE) and the Department for Culture Media and Sport (DCMS) during the period of the New Labour government, 1997–2010. The conclusion is drawn that, despite an official rhetoric which claimed artists occupied a priority position within English arts policy during this period, in reality artists continued to lack visibility and influence.

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