A busy day for such fare:
Local Authorities: A Change in the Cultural Climate?
By John Holden
Demos have recently published a report which explores issues surrounding
culture in the work of local authorities. Culture Northwest were
involved in the commissioning of this report and we would like to bring
it to your attention for further discussion within your networks.
The report can be downloaded directly from the DEMOS website:
http://www.demos.co.uk/publications/localculturalclimate
Please find below a synopsis of the report:
This report warns that in some places in the UK, culture faces a crisis
at Local Authority level. The picture is confused and confusing - there
is no cultural system, and hence reliable evidence is difficult to come
by. But that is no reason to ignore the problem of falling budgets and
asset disposals. Except for libraries and listed buildings, spending on
cultural services is not a statutory requirement. The current dynamics
of local authority funding are limiting the ability of councils to spend
their resources outside those areas where they are obliged to spend. The
result is likely to be that cultural infrastructure and cultural life
will be hit, in turn affecting the achievement of council priorities and
diminishing the quality of life of their citizens.
> Dear Colleague,
>
> This is to let you know that the latest research paper from the Centre for
> Cultural Policy Studies at the University of Warwick, entitled 'Rethinking
> the Social Impact of the Arts', is now available for down-load, free of
> charge, from:
>
> http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/arts/theatre_s/cp/publications/centrepubs/
> <https://mywebmail.warwick.ac.uk/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/arts/theatre_s/cp/publications/centrepubs/>
>
> This book-length paper, written by Eleonora Belfiore and Oliver Bennett,
> takes a critical approach to current debates about the value of the arts
> in modern societies and suggests different ways of thinking about cultural
> policy. The research for this book was funded jointly by the Arts and
> Humantities Research Council and Arts Council England. Further details
> appear below.
>
> With best wishes,
>
> Eleonora Belfiore
>
>
>
>
> Belfiore, E. and Bennett, O. (2006) Rethinking the social impacts of the
> arts: A critical-historical review, CCPS Research Paper #9, Centre for
> Cultural Policy Studies, University of Warwick, Coventry.
>
> Abstract
>
> This extended paper focuses on contemporary debates around the social
> impacts of the arts and the problem of their measurement and evaluation.
> It attempts to put forward a new framework for the understanding of the
> so-called 'transformative powers' of the arts, by suggesting that a
> historical-critical approach is needed to tackle this research topic. The
> paper therefore presents a detailed critical analysis of the numerous
> claims that have been made in the West over time, from Classical Greece (V
> century BC) to the present day, for the ways in which the arts can affect
> individuals and transform society. It offers a taxonomy of these suggested
> impacts, both positive and negative, with a view to establishing an
> appropriate conceptual basis for the discussion and investigation of what
> the social impact of the arts might mean. At the same time, the paper
> attempts to reconnect contemporary policy debates with a complex
> intellectual history, from which these debates have become detached. It is
> suggested that the impacts of the arts cannot be properly understood,
> measured or evaluated without reference to this history.
>
>
>
>
> Dr Eleonora Belfiore
> AHRC Research Fellow
> Centre for Cultural Policy Studies
> University of Warwick
> Coventry, CV4 7AL, UK
> Tel: +44 (0)2476 528425
> http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/arts/theatre_s/cp/research/fellowship/
> <http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/arts/theatre_s/cp/research/fellowship/>
> <http://uk.f272.mail.yahoo.com//e.belfiore.users.btopenworld.com/>
>
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