Patronised then Ignored

In March, an Arse Council "Relationship Manager" reluctantly agreed to the inevitable "feasibility study" of the proposals for the building to support minority ethnic arts development in North East England that some of us creative professionals have been promoting since late 2009. "Inevitable" because it is a common Arse Council tactic to deflect creative energy by spending money on "research" whenever artists ask for action.

So; £50,000 was promised to deliver this feasibility study and a consultancy who had done similar work agreed to do it. The first step in the study was to get the "Key Stakeholders"- Arse Council, local authorities etc to a pre-meeting to agree parameters: the wily consultants did not want to complete the job only to be told there were issues missing. IT TOOK NEARLY FOUR MONTHS for the Arse Council to agree a meeting and rather than the full round table planned, it was an unminuted discussion witnessed only by the Chair of the Sustained Theatre "National Artist Team". Although unminuted, key points were shared with me later: Notably; the Arse Council Relationship Manager now wanted an "options appraisal" to look at alternatives to the suggested project and went further to suggest that the suggested project would not be considered. Dropping the tabled project was rejected by the consultants and the NAT Chair.

WHY the opposition to the existing proposal? I had been told from the outset that the Arse Council questioned the artists' ability to manage the proposed project. They made reasonable sounding arguments about wanting to avoid investing in something that would only be sustained by regular financial bail-outs. In response I redrafted and reworked the proposal several times to justify claims for its financial sustainability. RECENTLY someone who attends meetings of the Newcastle-Gateshead Cultural Venues Group offered a different perspective: allegedly; our project has been discussed more than once by group members representing venues reporting falling box office income who fear increased competition from another venue. The fact that we have, from day one, said that we would target audiences who are currently not served by the venues in question AND that we intended to work with the other venues to encourage minority communities to also visit their venues when they presented appropriate work.

In any case: having reviewed the situation, the consultants cited "other commitments" and decided not to proceed with the work. We were unclear whether the Arse Council were informed but began to look for consultants who would be accepted by them (i.e. not any of us). At no time has the Arse Council contacted us, however when asked by "central office" in London about the state of the capital proposal from North East England, the North East minions told them that there were no viable proposals from this region and suggested that the funds earmarked for this region be redistributed (to the two London projects that have already been awarded over £2 from the £5m fund.

I was enraged, but had a sinking feeling that proved prophetic when I shared this information with North East Sustained Theatre Regional Hub members who opted not to try to oppose or even to comment on the Arse Council's contempt for the artists in this "artist-led initiative". These same members expected me to continue to work to support them after they proved unwilling to stand up for themselves. [LMAO] I responded by saying that I would complete the commitments to which I had agreed to date, but that I refused to "carry" the group in the way I had been doing for most of this year. I also said that if there was no contribution from members to the application to fund their proposed festival for 2014, I would not submit it.

I should mention that we welcomed the idea of the feasibility study becoming an options appraisal because of an idea for a project in Gateshead we suggested to the council and who, unlike the Arse Council, understood immediately and have enthusiastically supported by offering the resources of council departments, by initiating moves to acquire the building in question, by championing an HLF proposal and by introducing a contractor to deliver the building work. The options appraisal report would have unlocked all this support and potentially created something that seamlessly linked with the original project providing a logical development of INTERNATIONAL significance. Thankfully: the Arse Council's actions have only delayed the Gateshead project. I look forward to the day when it opens and we are able to say that it was achieved DESPITE the Arse Council rather than with the assistance they give their chums and "tame" brown-face-fronted organisations.