{"id":610666,"date":"2026-05-29T16:57:08","date_gmt":"2026-05-29T16:57:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/610666\/"},"modified":"2026-05-29T16:57:08","modified_gmt":"2026-05-29T16:57:08","slug":"arts-council-england-abolishes-beleaguered-flagship-strategy-the-art-newspaper","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/610666\/","title":{"rendered":"Arts Council England abolishes beleaguered flagship strategy – The Art Newspaper"},"content":{"rendered":"

Arts Council England (ACE) has overhauled its flagship organisational strategy known as Let\u2019s Create after a UK government-commissioned report last year criticised the framework for being overly bureaucratic.<\/p>\n

\u201cEach of our funding programmes would include reference to Let\u2019s Create in their guidance and eligibility criteria,\u201d explains an ACE spokesperson. ACE\u2019s new interim strategic framework, described as a \u201cstepping-stone\u201d move, replaces the defunct strategy, which will enable the arm\u2019s-length public funding body to make \u201cimpactful funding decisions at a time when our resources are finite\u201d.<\/p>\n

The shake-up follows a far-reaching review of ACE led by the Labour peer Margaret Hodge, which was published<\/a> last December. \u201cMany expressed support for the principles of Let\u2019s Create and were committed to ensuring that these were reflected in their work,\u201d Hodge wrote, adding, however: \u201cThough the strategy was named Let\u2019s Create, many felt that its implementation stifled creativity and innovation.\u201d<\/p>\n

ACE subsequently responded<\/a>: \u201cIt\u2019s\u2026 clear that some of those we fund have felt that the thrust of our current strategy, Let\u2019s Create, at times constrained their freedom to develop the art that matters to them. No one, neither artists nor audiences, is well served by this.\u201d<\/p>\n

Writing in The Guardian<\/a>, Charlotte Higgins said that Hodge recommended \u201cbinning Let\u2019s Create, the 10-year strategy designed to take ACE all the way to 2030, in favour of a simpler strategy that allows organisations to apply based on their own strengths, rather than endlessly banging square pegs into round holes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s Create was a 10-year plan introduced by ACE in 2020, presenting an \u201cambitious vision for the future of creativity and culture\u201d. The strategy was centred on four investment principles, including \u201cEnvironmental Responsibility\u201d and \u201cInclusivity & Relevance\u201d.<\/p>\n

ACE pledged that the cultural workforce would be representative of \u201ccontemporary England\u201d under Let\u2019s Create, given the persistent lack of diversity across the creative industries. \u201cWe will take steps to support the cultural sector to set the pace in coming up with imaginative new approaches to promoting environmental responsibility,\u201d said the organisation.<\/p>\n

The new Strategic Framework is based on three principles and must do three things\u2014 \u201csupport excellence, deliver for everybody and reach everywhere\u201d, says Arts Council England. Historically, funding for arts and culture has been unevenly distributed, says the new document, which stresses that ACE will seek to balance investment and activity across the country. ACE will continue to build its network of \u201cPriority Places\u201d, locations across England where investment and engagement in the arts is too low.<\/p>\n

Some measures will be implemented instantly. \u201cWe will start working immediately with freelancers and individual artists to develop a new service for individuals, with a national funding programme at its heart,\u201d says the document. One museum professional told The Art Newspaper anonymously that \u201cthe revamp is welcome but let\u2019s hope that this approach turns out to be far less prescriptive\u201d.<\/p>\n

Crucially, Nicholas Serota, the chair of ACE, steps down on 31 July. The UK Department for Culture, Media and Sport will oversee the recruitment and appointment of Serota\u2019s replacement, a move that will be closely watched by the culture sector.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Arts Council England (ACE) has overhauled its flagship organisational strategy known as Let\u2019s Create after a UK government-commissioned…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":610667,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[6225,6485,175973,62527,6486,1120,96,56,44208,54,55],"class_list":["post-610666","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-arts-and-design","tag-arts","tag-arts-and-design","tag-arts-council-england","tag-arts-funding","tag-artsanddesign","tag-design","tag-entertainment","tag-uk","tag-uk-politics","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/610666","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=610666"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/610666\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/610667"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=610666"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=610666"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=610666"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}