In spite of the relatively small amount spent by Governments on the Arts and in spite of considerable cuts already made by the Arts Council and in spite of the fact that the return on money spent on the Arts is exceptionally high, there is little evidence from past experience to suggest they will be protected from the sword's sharp edge.
And in so far as the cuts about to be made are really necessary, we wouldn't expect them to be. We must accept our fair share of the pain.
However, the size of cuts, if applied in one blow, could be fatal. For those with small and already very tight budgets 25% is like cutting the legs off runners and telling them to win the 100 metres. And that's just the sort of thing people expect of the Arts.
At the very least we must have the time to make the big adjustments that will be needed, to what we do in the Arts and how we do it. If it really is to be as much as 25%, let it be spread over a number of years. In those years, too, we need as much help as possible to find ways of keeping us up and running.
Our Arts organisations and activities are too valuable to the country, its people and the economy for us to lose them. Along with Schools they provide the environment in which our creativity can flourish - or they should do, for we will need every drop of creativity we can muster to cope with what the future will bring us and our children.
And that is what Ken Robinson talked about at a TED conference . Do see below what he had to say on the subject. He's very funny but also deadly serious
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