Funding for Arts in the Community
Andrew Ray (Equity) moved motion 67. He said: President and fellow delegates, I was fortunate enough to be born into a family steeped in show business, and I grew up with a love of all aspects of the arts, but especially drama and music hall. There are many in our society who do not have such good fortune. There are, however, ways in which people without my opportunities could be given access to a wonderful world which could fire their imaginations.
Schools. It seems that the Government are hell bent on introducing PFI into the educational system. What worries me about this development is the possibility that more and more emphasis is going to be placed on pushing the curriculum towards training our young to serve the interests of big business and the multi-nationals. It is vital that other aspects of the development of our children and grandchildren are catered for.
On run-down council estates throughout the country it is hard for kids to realise that there is anything outside of their often depressing environments. By bringing to youngsters a different way of looking at life and the world, we can open their minds; involving children in role playing and showing that there is an opportunity to be something else and aspire to a life beyond their sometimes limited horizons.
How many of us have come out of a theatre or concert hall inspired and moved by what we have seen? Many youngsters, who are fed on a daily diet of cartoons and adverts for trainers, are not even aware of the possibilities that exist in today's society. Sending round small groups of actors to perform plays that are relevant to their lives and involving them in discussions afterwards would give kids vision and inspiration. Hospitals are another area where provision of intellectual stimulation and entertainment is virtually nil. People who are confined to their beds for weeks or even months with only their illness to pray on their minds would love something to cheer them up when they are at their lowest ebb. Laughter can be a great tonic in these situations. It would only take a couple of actors to come along and give them a play reading to exercise their chuckle muscles and enable them to forget about their problems for an hour or so; the sudden appearance of a clown on a children's ward - I am not talking about the arrival of the health trust manager (Laughter and applause) or someone to come in and do a bit of juggling or mime just to brighten their day.
Our prisons are another example of an area where minds need stimulating. We now lock up more people than any of our European neighbours and record profits are being forecast from our newly privatised prisons. Will these profits be made through cuts and locking up people in their cells for longer hours? It would not cost a great deal to increase the input of the arts in our prisons. Already some good work is being done by different acting groups, but very often without help or adequate funding. If there was any place in this country which needs to encourage the idea that you can change your life around, then it is in our institutions of incarceration. Get inmates involved in productions and role playing; have stimulating discussions about why characters act in dramas as they do. In this way, people can discover much about themselves and where they have gone wrong in the past.
By and large we are a giving and caring profession but we need the framework, assistance and some financial support.
Last but by no means least, we come to the most neglected people in our society, those in nursing and residential homes. I am sure that many of you here have an elderly relative who is in care. Of course, we visit our love ones whenever we can, but old folk do spend a lot of time sitting lonely and feeling forgotten as the world moves on outside. I know how many times I have called in or walked passed an old people's home and seen our citizens just sitting and staring into space with nothing to occupy their minds. They are desperate for human contact and interest. There are many charities and individuals who take time out to visit but that is not enough. Something must be done by the Arts Council, national Government and at local and regional levels. We must give more to those who have given to all of us.
There are so many of us in Equity who really want to get involved. I urge you to back this motion so that we can make this a better and more imaginative world for those less privileged than ourselves. Thank you.
George Wiskin (National Union of Teachers) seconding the motion, said: The NUT could justify supporting this motion solely on hard edged economic grounds. After all, the creative arts are now a major contributor to the gross national product. This means that children and young people should, for economic reasons alone, be exposed to the live arts, to inspire them to be arts practitioners in the future, as well as engineers, IT experts, health workers and, dare I say, teachers, too. So art spending is a component of the investment in the future prosperity. It could be the sole reason for providing the community with personal experience of actors, dancers, musicians and their supporting technicians.
What the NUT also recognises is an opportunity to experience the arts must be retained in a broad and balanced curriculum, which has been greatly narrowed in recent years by excessive concentration on basic skills which are over-tested to ensure delivery.
The consequence has been that creativity and performance have been squeezed in schools. It needs re-establishing. This motion gives practical expression to our objectives.
The NUT is fully committed to the 1999 report of the Government's National Advisory Committee on Creative and Cultural Education, which concluded that the arts are crucial to the development of the child as an individual, crucial to the ability of individuals to contribute to Society's needs and crucial to the harmonization of our multi-faceted society. These fine words, supported by the CBI amongst others, are not enough. Advice to the Government has to be acted upon, not neglected. We need practical ways of implementing these objectives and this motion gives one way.
Teachers know from experience in their own schools that drama is a most powerful educational tool, an example in health education, in anti-bullying schemes, in anti-discrimination programmes and the like.
I think it is crucial that we have secure funding arrangements for the arts. We need to encourage partnerships which support educational theatre companies. Perhaps the TUC movement as a whole could show the way. We could organise a theatre group to tackle one of our own concerns - the apathy, even hostility, of the young towards unions. Case made.