NEW NEWS
Ambit Magazine! Image - Sir Peter Blake
It was the 200th anniversary of the prestigious Ambit magazine earlier this week. It’s 200 issues old. The magazine, which was started in the late 50s has been headed by Dr Martin Bax for all that time. With a fantastic amalgamation of art, reviews, poetry and short fiction, the magazine has delighted a wide range of readers throughout the years. I worked for the magazine as Editorial Assistant a few years ago, and I am currently a poetry reviewer.
Happy birthday to Ambit! Long may it reign and prosper!
go to the LAUNCH EVENT where there will be readings from the 200th competition winners, and other brilliant writers.
ARTS COUNCIL ASSESORS TO COME
So the Arts Council recently made their announcement that to aid the process of deciding who gets funding, there will be a team of assessors – professional people who know about and understand the arts – that write reports on arts organisations and events for the Arts Council. Controversial perhaps? Another step to try to diminish the criticism the Arts Council has been subject to over its funding, which came to a head last year when organisations like The Bush Theatre and Ambit Magazine had their funding taken away from them. (The Bush managed to claw it back, Ambit, however, did not.)
So who exactly are these assessors to be? People who wander the UK essentially writing up reviews on various projects? People who are qualified to write about the arts? But why shouldn’t they be anybody? You, me, them, people who want to have an overall say about what they want to see in their area? At the moment the Arts Council say
“They are expected to come from a diverse range of backgrounds and practice, and may include artists, arts managers, academics and critics.”
Hmmmmm. Not a particularly wide ranging audience then… what about ages…? I expect they won’t be including young ‘uns, or oldies? With the arts council saying that this move will provide a “broader evidence base to help inform its funding decisions” I wonder just how broad this will actually be?
Then again, perhaps this move is a step in the right direction, opening up the decision a bit may help in the future, for organisations to better understand why their arts council funding gets taken from them. I can’t help feeling that this is a bit of placating on the Arts Council’s part…
http://press.artscouncil.org.uk/Content/Detail.asp?ReleaseID=834&NewsAreaID=2
http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2009/sep/10/arts-council-seeks-critics
http://www.guardian.co.uk/stage/theatreblog/2009/sep/10/peer-review-arts-council-theatre-assessors
