Giving Voice to the Nation. The Arts Council of Great Britain and the Development of Theatre and Performance in Britain 1945-1995
Subsidy, Patronage & Sponsorship: Theatre and Performance Culture in Uncertain Times
A Three Day International Conference, 19-21 July 2012, organized by the University of Reading and the Victoria & Albert Museum, London
Sackler Centre, Victoria & Albert Museum
This is to announce the second and final call for papers for the crucially timed conference on 'Subsidy, Patronage and Sponsorship: Theatre and Performance Culture in Uncertain Times'. Taking place over three days (19th - 21st July, 2012) at the Victoria & Albert Museum, London, this event aims to generate a discourse between practitioners, administrators and academics from Britain and a wider international spectrum.
At this period of a developing crisis in Arts funding (the full impact of which has yet to be felt), this is a timely and practical intervention that should not be missed. Discussions for an edited publication of the conference proceedings are underway. Confirmed speakers include David Edgar, Gregory Motton, Robert Hewison, Emmanuel Wallon, Michael Raab, Jen Harvie and Michael McKinnie but further offers of participation are warmly welcomed.
Proposals are sought for papers that address one or more of the following areas:
- The past/present relationship/distinction between patronage, subsidy and sponsorship
- The discursive relationship between policy and practice in subsidized performance
- National models of subsidy and the effect of instrumental funding
- Past and present models of private patronage
- The past/present role of the Arts Council of Great Britain/Arts Council England
- Subsidy, patronage and policy in the regions
- The role of the private patron in theatre and performance culture
- The role and impact of subscription theatre in America
- Past/present 'moments of crisis' in theatre and performance
- National lotteries and theatre/performance funding
- Embracing the economic crisis - opportunities for innovation
Abstracts for papers should be 250 words in length and sent to j.s.bull@reading.ac.uk; k.dorney@vam.ac.uk; g.saunders@reading.ac.uk and j.l.bolton@reading.ac.uk.
Suggestions for panels (consisting of three papers) on a specific theme or topic will also be welcome. The closing date for submissions is 24th February 2012.
Further details are available here: www.vam.ac.uk/whatson/event/1665/
Details of the project
Public subsidy is the cornerstone of post-war British theatre: new writing; new theatre spaces; new theatrical styles and genres; the birth of the fringe and the encouragement of ethnic minority involvement all owe their continuing existence to the policies and financial backing of Arts Council of Great Britain (ACGB). Its impact on theatre policy and practice is often alluded to but has never been fully explored, either in those books that deal with the history of the ACGB, or those that focus on the history and historiography of post-war British theatre. This is due partly to the scale of the archive (approximately 25000 files) and the labyrinthine nature of departments and cross panel committees.
In January 2009, the University of Reading and the Victoria and Albert Museum were awarded a major AHRC Research Grant to undertake a five-year project to investigate the theatre archive of the Arts Council of Great Britain.
The project comprises of three major strands: histories of regional theatre, touring companies and new writing. The project currently employs two post-doctoral students who since January 2009 have undertaken an extensive survey and cataloguing of the archive relating to the three research areas as well as initiating their own research and conducting interviews with former Arts Council staff.
By surveying all the material relating directly / indirectly to regional theatre, touring companies and new writing the project will offer new insights into the practice and policy of post-war British theatre. Once the project is completed, the project outputs (catalogue, display, reader's guides and publications) and an accessible archive will ensure that the benefits of the project will be both long-term and widespread across the academic theatre community and practitioners, and across the research communities of history and cultural studies.
For more information, please contact g.saunders@reading.ac.uk.
The online Arts Council Great Britain archive
As part of this AHRC-funded research project, several guides have been compiled to introduce researchers to the structure and content of the online ACGB archive. Each document focuses on a particular policy area: Arts Centres; Regional Arts Associations; Community Arts; ACGB Panels and Housing the Arts. The weblinks included in these guides take the researcher directly to the relevant webpage of the ACGB archive.