Martin Bright on London’s New Deal for the arts
Posted on 29. Apr, 2010 by Stephen in News
New Deal of the Mind — A Call To Action
Just over a year ago around 60 prominent figures from Britain’s cultural institutions and the entertainment industry gathered at No. 11 Downing to discuss the implications of the economic crisis. They were there at the invitation of Maggie Darling, the Chancellor of the
Exchequer’s wife and Cabinet ministers James Purnell and Andy Burnham.
This was the birth of New Deal of the Mind, an organisation that grew
out of an article I wrote for the New Statesman in January 2009
arguing that Britain could learn from the cultural projects of
President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal in 1930s America. This work
creation scheme spawned artists Mark Rothko and Jackson Pollock as
well as writers Saul Bellow and John Cheever.
To their huge credit, the representatives of the state-subsidised arts
sector did not discuss funding for their organisations and film and
music industry executives chose not to use the occasion to lobby for
their interests. They were there to discuss how they could help create
work during the downturn and they stuck to their brief.
As a direct result of meetings convened by Jude Kelly, creative
director of the Southbank Centre, and others present that day, arts
organisations across the country committed themselves to generating
jobs during the recession wherever they could. This, in turn, led to a
commitment from the government to provide the money for 5,000
subsidised jobs in the creative sector through the Future Jobs Fund.
The scheme targets young people who have been out of work for six
months, many of whom would never have considered a career in the arts.
The first 30 of these jobs started at the end of last month at the
Southbank Centre, which has been a real pioneer in this area. Since
then, the Royal Opera House, Somerset House and the National Portrait
Gallery have joined forces to create more jobs in central London. At
New Deal of the Mind, we have partnered up with Newham sixth form
college (New Vic) and Stratford Circus arts centre to create jobs in
east London and Theatre Resource, an arts organisation for the
disabled to provide work in Essex. This month we will be announcing
plans for over 160 jobs across London and a series of digital projects
across the country.
When I first proposed a New Deal of the Mind I wanted to spur
politicians into action. James Purnell and Andy Burnham challenged me
to get involved myself but it was never my original intention to set
up my own organisation. Since then, New Deal of the Mind has taken on
a life of its own. We have produced two reports for the Arts Council
about the future of the creative economy and lobbied for an end to the
intern culture and the return of the Thatcher-era Enterprise Allowance
Scheme. Ultimately we aim to set up a network of creative incubation
hubs across the country, but the core of our business has to be
getting people back to work.
More information about New Deal of the Mind can be found at
www.newdealofthemind.com
If you are interested in a New Deal of the Mind creative job please
contact your Jobcentre Plus or write to us at
info@newdealofthemind.com
LinkedIn
Twitter
Facebook