The Way We Are

Studies in World Art Book 78

By: Edward Lucie-Smith

Narrated by: James Tavegia

This article is essentially a follow-up to a piece by The Jackdaw’s revered editor, David Lee, published in The Times on July 25, 2013. In it, he detailed just what a fiasco the Arts Council’s contribution to an otherwise successful Olympic year was, with £5.4 million spent and nothing to show for it.

"Twelve months on," he noted, "[and] we can evaluate more clearly what we received for a sum that approaches the council’s entire visual arts budget. The short answer is nothing; nothing memorable or of enduring merit - it was all frittered away on trivia. Not a single painting, print, sculpture or ceramic in any gallery. Not a mural or stained glass window in any civic building. No worthy public sculpture. Not even a sprawling installation or soporific video destined for a gallery warehouse. The sum total is three crocheted lions at Twycroft Zoo and a boat made from 1200 donated wooden objects currently moored...somewhere."

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