Page 17 - Studio International - September 1971

highest class professional product. They also as restaurants and lecture rooms. As far as the individual craftsmen to come to terms with
look for those artistic activities in which the average visitor is concerned, whether you are present conditions and not only survive, but
people in their area are already interested or thinking of children, or adults from this flourish; and second, to create a new central
show signs of wanting to be interested. They country or from overseas, there is no doubt that structure through which Government help can
are, therefore, concerned with amateur art and the first priority is more building and more staff. be given effectively and which in its turn can
with the participating audience. This you will But where is the money to come from ? Put put problems and proposals to Government.
see is a small step in the direction of using yourself in my position. How could I ask my The central services which we hope to
government support to bring the arts to the colleagues for millions of capital, for which there provide must be based on local contacts with
largest possible audience throughout the are so many demands, hospitals, schools, craftsmen whose operations differ from one
country. prisons, cleaning up the environment, etc., if part of the country to another. I have to find the
The Arts Council's grant to all the English those who use the museums were not to make most appropriate machinery for keeping in
Regional Arts Associations in 1970-71 was just some contribution ? touch with craftsmen where they live and work.
over £300,000 out of its total £9.3 million. I did The Secretaries of State for Scotland and Their own craft societies are numerous and
not consider this adequate, and this year a Wales and I hope shortly to agree a programme often representative of a particular craft rather
higher proportion is going to the regions. of capital works for the national museums as than a geographical area. These craft societies
Scotland and Wales have each their own Arts part and parcel of the scheme for entrance will be invited to become associated both
Council receiving this year £1,160,00o and charges. I am as certain as I can be of anything centrally and locally with the organization I am
£700,00o respectively. A considerable part of that future generations will consider the aiming at. They can in their different ways be
these two grants is spent on the same kind of introduction of charges a very small counterpart of the greatest help to me and to each other.
regional activities as are the concern of the to the expansion and improvement of the
English Regional Arts Associations, while in museums in question. THE CINEMA
both countries there is national opera and in I should like to put in a special word for the
Scotland an orchestra to be supported. PROVINCIAL MUSEUMS AND GALLERIES film as an art form. As you know, the cinema
I would ask you to take the closest possible So far as the provinces are concerned, we find was the entertainment of the masses. Far more
interest in the Regional Arts Association in a very wide range of institutions, some of a high people bought a seat for a film than ever
your area, and if you happen to live in Sussex, degree of excellence, but many more struggling dreamed of going to a theatre, and still do, in
Kent or Essex to do something to get a Regional with totally inadequate resources. Before we spite of the fact that television now caters for
Arts Association going. These associations, can formulate a sensible policy of assistance, we the mass audience in their own homes. Just as
where they are well staffed and supported must survey the present state and future needs sound radio did a wonderful job for music, so
locally, are already giving very good value for of several hundred of these museums and television is beginning to create small but
money. They have, as I see it, an important galleries. As I have already told Parliament, I enthusiastic audiences for the film as an
financial job which the Arts Council cannot do am setting up a working party for this purpose, art-form. Governments have given financial
from London, and that is to persuade the local the membership of which will show how support to the film through the British Film
authorities that they should contribute to seriously we are taking the problem of the Institute, which receives an annual grant of over
artistic activities which are viable if they cover provincial museum; what for example should £750,000—not much, as I am often told, in
an area larger than that of any one local be the role of the local museum in relation to comparison with, say, opera, theatre and ballet.
authority, but not necessarily in the national the education service in the area ? I am a great The Institute has done well to stimulate
category. To take an example: the Bournemouth admirer of the pride and interest which people audiences to see films which are not wanted by
Symphony Orchestra could not exist in take in their local history. We must give the commercial circuits, to give lectures and
Bournemouth alone or in the County of encouragement, especially now when major much information about the film as an art, and
Hampshire. It must play in and be supported works of art are so expensive, to the collections to establish a national film archive. After
by the whole of the South-West and West of based on the town or district in which a museum guiding the Institute through a period of rapid
England. is situated. At the same time there are services expansion Sir William Coldstream has resigned
like display, conservation and the commission the chairmanship. He wants to reduce his
FUTURE POLICY FOR NATIONAL MUSEUMS AND and sale of postcards and booklets which many commitments, and I can sympathize with him.
GALLERIES small museums find beyond them. Then there Fortunately Mr Denis Forman has agreed to
Relatively to the Arts Council, museums have are loan exhibitions and the links between the take over the chair, and under his direction we
some reason to feel neglected. We are taking museum and other artistic activities. All these can look forward to exciting developments.
decisions in this field which will require years important aspects require more study, in I believe that if young producers, who want
to mature, but the public will benefit as the conjunction with the Local Authorities whose to make films which are works of art, are given
developments are completed. responsibility most of these museums are. more encouragement, we shall find that the
The eighteen national museums are financed specialized audiences which are probably a
by direct grant from the Government. Taken • CRAFTS spin-off from TV will prefer their pictures to
as a group, they are without equal as far as their The present Government have transferred the those which have been imported into this
collections are concerned. But few of them can responsibility of the crafts from the old Board country from abroad and are commonly known
show a satisfactory proportion of their of Trade to my office. They pose a very difficult as 'blue'.
collections, which grow all the time. Nor have problem of organization. There is no strong
all of them the space or amenities to serve the central body which has both the confidence of I hope I have said enough to show you that the
general public and the scholar as they would the majority of craftsmen and the means to variety of problems which are on my desk are
wish to do. Do you suppose that the number of serve the crafts as a whole. Artist-craftsmen interesting individually and formidable as a
visitors to museums, which has been rising find it particularly hard to adjust themselves to group. I hope too that these brief sketches will
steadily, will now suddenly become static ? If the economics of the modern world. Some crafts assist in the consideration of the critical aspect
you think as I do, that the rise will gather pace, are in danger of extinction, and others are of government policy towards the arts with
then there is no time to lose to prepare for the limping along and cannot provide the which I wish to end this lecture
crowds that are coming. It follows that the inducements for young people to risk their First let us look a little closer at the sources
museums require large capital programmes of future by becoming professional craftsmen. of the capital and income required for all these
building, air-conditioning and equipment such I have, therefore, to do two things : to help activities. Every civilized person would like to
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