| Times of Turbulence |
Arts Council Uncovered |
| Timeline of Events 2000 , Arts Companies, Local Government, Parliament, National Assembly , December 19, 2012 |
The article of 12th December was prompted by Creative Scotland's loss of its Chief Executive. There are lessons to be seen for future CEO's. It is a dozen years since Wales' Arts Council put itself into a similar state of stress. The Council's awful year carried on into the new century. A selected timeline ran: 12th January: Gwent Theatre announced it was a legal challenge. In the Commons MPs Don Touhig, Huw Edwards and Llew Smith called for the Auditor General to investigate. Thirty-four MPs voted unanimously to protest against the Arts Council decision-making. 19th January: The Arts Council of Wales' drama strategy in 1999 proposed reducing eight theatre companies for young people to five. A year on the decision was cancelled. 26th January: Dic Edwards wrote: “I too despair...We have given advice, pleaded, protested, cajoled, shouted ourselves hoarse and all but gone down on bended knees to beg you to stop what you are doing. You only listen when a gun is put to your head...Writers Guild, Equity, WAPA, WLGA, GALW, the TIE companies, the new writing theatre companies - all opposed. Are these a 'few individuals'?” 11th February: Monmouthshire County Council invited the local authorities in south-east Wales to join it in its campaign to oust the arts council leadership. 24th February: The National Assembly announced an enquiry into ACW. 10th April: The Western Mail reported: “The Arts Council is rapidly losing its political friends and is moving closer to abolition...the possibility of the total closure of the council was put forward by party deputy president Rob Humphreys, and it won the support of Jenny Randerson, AM for Cardiff Central. 25th April: Tom Middlehurst, the National Assembly's Secretary for the Arts, announced the appointment of Richard Wallace to conduct an independent review of the Arts Council of Wales. 1st September: The independent review of the management of the Arts Council of Wales was published and proposed that the Council introduce a more focused organisational structure with a stronger role for regional committees. The Stage's language was less diplomatic: “its senior personnel had, through a series of bungled funding decisions, lost the confidence of the arts community and that of the council's own staff.” Janek Alexander wrote: "ACW has become cut-off and isolated in recent years. A change at the top has been long overdue. By the end of this summer the loss of credibility and confidence in ACW was total. It's important that they bring in new people from outside the organisation and restore confidence quickly." Wales Association for the Performing Arts chairman Chris Ryde wrote: "Even ACW staff felt let down and went as far as balloting for industrial action. The Arts Council had difficulties - but they were self-inflicted." 22nd September: The Western Mail reported: “Council and Chief Executive met last week to consider ACW's response to the Wallace report and the report into the Theatre for Young People part of ACW's drama strategy, commissioned by the Chief Executive from the auditors PricewaterhouseCoopers. Council has decided with regret to accept Ms Weston's resignation in the face of these criticisms since it is important to regain the confidence of the arts community and other partners.” |
Reviewed by: Adam Somerset |
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