The New Economy Art, DACS and Artquest’s new book exploring value, patronage and emerging business models in contemporary visual art, was presented to MPs, policy-makers, arts leaders and funders in a launch event at the House of Commons, yesterday, Monday 24 November 2014.
The necessity of investment in visual artists
The afternoon reception took place in the Strangers’ Dining Room, hosted by MP, John Whittingdale, Chair of the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee.
The reception provided an opportunity to introduce
The New Economy of Art to key decision-makers and highlight the pertinent issues it raises - crucially, the threat posed to the UK’s visual arts, creative economy, leisure and tourism sectors by cuts in public funding to arts and education, and a booming, unregulated art market which fails to pay back to artists.
Speeches were heard from John Whittingdale, MP; Russell Martin, Programme Manager at Artquest; Gilane Tawadros, Chief Executive of DACS; and the Turner Prize-nominated artist Jane Wilson, of collaborators Jane and Louise Wilson.
John Whittingdale stressed the value of visual artists to society and emphasised the need for continued investment in the UK’s cultural industries, highlighting a recent report from Arts Council England.
Russell Martin quoted an essay in
The New Economy of Art, by economist Professor Alan Freeman, who reiterates the sentiments of John Maynard Keynes, founder of the Arts Council: “I think we need artists because only artists can get us out of the recession…you don’t actually live with what the artist has done until long after: that’s when you realise the virtues.”
Gilane Tawadros said: “Great civilisations are remembered by the artists they produce, and not by the bankers they create.” If we don’t invest in artists - the majority of whom earn less than £10,000 a year - the UK’s international status as a cultural powerhouse, its institutions, tourism industry and art market will considerably diminish.
Jane Wilson closed speeches by drawing on her personal experience as an artist, stressing that without public funding and the support of organisations such as DACS and Artquest, the creation of some her most of important artworks would not have been possible.
View photographs from the event
Find out more about The New Economy of Art
The New Economy of Art presents the different perspectives of artists, economists, critics, academics, art dealers and curators on the financial and business models adopted in the UK’s public and private sectors of the art world, and their impact on individual artists and their work.
You can pre-order the book in advance of its publication on Wednesday 3 December from
our website.
To deepen dialogue around the issues it raises we are hosting a series of public debates at DACS’ offices. Tickets to the first debate are now sold out but you can contribute to the discussion on Twitter by using the hashtag
#artistsworth.
Find out more.
Photograph: John Whittingdale, MP. Photograph by Brian Benson © Brian Benson, 2014