'The arts budget is tiny; it costs 17p a week per person - less than half the price of a pint of milk. In return we have: world-class arts and artists; a sector that gives Britain an international edge as a dynamic place to live, work and do business; a sector which fuels the creative industries and generates future jobs in one of the fastest growing parts of the economy; and a sector with a proven track record of regenerating towns and cities and contributing to a cohesive and engaged society'. The Arts Council,England. (2009)
Reading this article I found it contained many financial statistics surrounding why the arts council demonstrate why the arts matter after 15 years of sustained investment. Within this article I felt that amongst the opinions the facts spoke for themselves and demonstrated well how facts and statistics can be used to strengthen an argument. Being interpreted the only way possible I noticed that asides from the opinions the stand alone facts were clear to decipher.
I felt the perception towards the arts and its effect on society, outlining what it could mean for the economy in the future as long as funding is maintained, led me to consider the impact this could have on a smaller scale. With this article speaking form a national scale, I couldn’t help consider how the knock on effect could impact individuals within the performing arts industry. For every£1 the arts council invests £2 is donated by private investors allowing the growth of the arts in Britain. I wondered with so much financial backing to push on in the future and increase job opportunities within this sector what would happen if government funding was cut what effect would this have nationally on industry professionals.
I have chosen to focus my inquiry investigating how I could potentially strengthen performers, and performing arts teachers’ employability and career longevity in the performing arts industry. I hope to examine the realities of industry professionals on how they could/have increased their hire ability and expanded their professional networking skills in order to maximise their potential. After reading this article I felt reassured that my inquiry was important and it’s not just myself who has a passion for the arts it is much wider spread “More people are enjoying the arts than ever before (76% in 2008/9)"The Arts Council,England. (2009)
There appears to be substantial support to the arts funding and exposure but why then do many still struggle to sustain a career in arts? Through my initial inquiry interviews and focus group planning I felt the need to address this question in the hope it could lead to a deeper understanding of how peoples experiences whilst working in the industry compared. I felt with these shared experiences I could potentially find a correlation to where success/disappointment in the arts lay therefore showing an example of how to get where you want to be without making too many bad decisions. With this article I became more aware of the wide spread involvement of individuals within the performing arts industry and the impact of their interest or disinterest could have to its future. Before I had just looked within my own professional network and not considered the bigger picture and potential reach beyond it. I discovered that in order to form a strong basis for my inquiry analysis I should look beyond the obvious and look at the information sources from this article as a an example of the differing sources out there. This article really highlighted the need to address issues within the arts from a well rounded perspective and that is what I hope to carry out throughout my inquiry. To answer my inquiry question; Does a teaching role within the arts impede the opportunity to perform? I now see that it’s not just performers and performing arts teacher’s opinions that could bring a deeper insight and direction. I now believe that perceptions from anyone with a connection to the performing arts industry, career related or just general interest could bring valuable greater perception therefore allowing me a broader input of information to analyse my findings from. I had already looked at my survey and interview candidate choices and now reconsidered the network for inclusion. I then reconsidered by asking "Calling all professional/training performers, teachers, casting directors and anyone else with an affiliation within the arts!"
This article exploring why the arts matter has given me a lot to think about for my inquiry. I further believe I must not allow my personal views to sway my judgement and by gaining a well rounded selection of perceptions I will truly answer my inquiry unbiased and as accurately as possible. When I analyse my findings I yet don’t know what the outcome will be, but by gaining as much input from as many different sources as possible I believe this will show my findings to be a true representation from across the board.
The Arts Council,England. (2009). Why the arts matter. Available:
http://www.artscouncil.org.uk/about-us/why-arts-matter/. Last accessed 25th November 2011.
Gaskell, Rebecca (2011). BA Professional Practice Arts Middlesex University.Available: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=501852648&ref=tn_tnmn#!/pages/BA-Professional-Practice-Arts-Middlesex-University/145821545478191?sk=wall&filter=1 . Last accessed 21st December 2011.
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