Amanda Polich’s Post

How do you define the Value of the Arts? Came across this tidy little chart from RAND on 'Reframing the Debate About the Value of the Arts' today: https://lnkd.in/g5t4wGpk

Exposure to art, culture, nature and heritage broadens children's horizons and encourages them to think outside of their immediate circumstances, but the number of students given the opportunity to pursue these interests to GCSE and A-level is dropping significantly year-on-year. Since 2010, participation in arts subjects at GCSE level has dropped by 47%. There are challenges for schools facilitating meaningful access, especially through trips and visitors into school (including financial, time constraints, low staffing levels). On a personal note, I would love to see schools risk assessing for school trips / visitors into school not just by looking at the potential risks of doing *a thing*, but at the potential (though often less immediate) risks of NOT doing it.

At the suggestion of LinkedIn algorithms I am turning this comment into a post and coming out here about how much i am struggling to survive as an artist. I am on the hunt for a 3 day a week properly paid job - as an account manager / consultant / project manager - so i can actually breathe again - and finish my phd: I am seeking a corporate job (if anyone knows of one here please get in touch!). I'm poorer now than I was at 23. The university system used to offer support to artists as lecturers but that is also now a rare thing - most of us are runnning from uni to uni, teaching bits here and there, with no pay over the holidays. I literally don't see any way it is going to improve. Especially for artists (like me) who rarely sell object based works it feels increasingly impossible to scrape together even the basic living. My tax returns are utterly depressing. The paperwork you have to do for each tiny job is yet more unpaid labour. After 22 years of making and curating and teaching art you'd think I may have cracked it by now - but no. And then there are feelings of shame / failure alongside the stress of not knowing how to get through the month. There needs to be much much more transparency on what artists are being paid for things. Sharing events/exhibitions/workshops on Instagram (or here) looks like success. But if there were a fee included as part of that post's info we would see a different story. I did have one well paid gig last week. But everything else is piecemeal. It's utterly depresssing for the arts in this country and for all who benefit and enjoy it. Any leads on any jobs please get in touch! Based in London or Felixstowe/Suffolk or remote.

Five connections that underpin the impact of the UK arts sector: Connections within the ecosystem are critical to the arts sector’s ability to achieve and sustain impact. http://dlvr.it/Sz4mtm

Sample 2 Decentralisation can save the arts. Be the change you want to see in the arts. Who are you waiting for to rescue you? Listen in full here. https://lnkd.in/dmJ5dQgk

So, who are we, and what do we do? Check out some fast facts about the Arts Collective!

Echoing Lord Ed Vaizey's excellent speech this week One would expect the words 'Arts' and 'Culture' to be at the very heart of policy in the National Planning Policy Framework This is after all the essential text which governs spatial planning in England Yet in over 28,000 words the words 'arts' and 'culture' both appear only once Are we relegated to nipping out the back of the pub, for a sneaky cultural experience? The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities seems to think so As Arts and Culture linger shamefully in their lonely single mention, behind 'factory outlet centres' and 'indoor bowling centres and bingo halls' in a snappy section on 'town centres' in the Glossary. Lucy Frazer QC is this REALLY the best we can do as a Cultural and Arts powerhouse? Department for Culture, Media and Sport is a strong voice for our creative economy, but sometimes one has to wonder if anyone listens to anyone else in Whitehall Our culture and arts are part of the DNA our of national experience and an important way we need to think about the future of our nation. This of course must includes spaces they are to occupy HM Treasury has occasionally spotted the sector as the Chancellor said last year "Our Creative Industry isn’t just about the glitz and glam of the red carpet in Leicester Square. It brings in £108 billion a year to help fund our public services, supports over 2 million jobs, and is world renowned" but sometimes it is difficult to understand that the creative economy is actually one of our 5 key sectors identified for growth. If policy insists in being oblivious to our cultural life, Shakespeare's observation from Richard II might well be prophetic about the future of our national cultural and arts landscape: "Against the envy of less happier lands, this blessed plot, this earth, this realm, this England.... that was wont to conquer others, hath made a shameful conquest of itself" But then again - everyone is a critic. It takes real effort to actually achieve important things...

💯 We often share the benefits for students using arts integration, but the TEACHERS also receive positive impacts. Want to help teachers be happier, keep them longer, and build their creative and professional capacity? Try arts integration! #artsintegration #educationalleadership #teachingandlearning

The arts are an unstoppable force. Learn more about how we’re strengthening cities through the power of the arts in our Annual Report. https://bloom.bg/3vMlbhM

Often referred to as "the Olympics of the art world," the Venice Biennale shapes the tastes of curators, critics, collectors and dealers. Through the lens of the current edition, artnet and the Art Resources Team at Morgan Stanley, led by Ferdousi Islam, take a look at the historical marginalization of Latin American artists and explore four case studies that highlight some of the regional intricacies. Read the full article: https://mgstn.ly/3WASjnF