Models Direct Explore Arts Council Cut Backs
Added: (Mon Sep 20 2010)
Pressbox (Press Release) -
Models Direct have been left saddened by the recent news that the Arts Council's A Night Less Ordinary scheme is set to be axed by the government in a bid to reduce government expenditure. The scheme which seeks to encourage young people to the theatre by offering them free tickets is set to finish in March 2011. Models Direct explore the consequences of reducing such important arts funding.
The Arts Council’s A Night Less Ordinary was launched by the government in 2009 as a means of encouraging younger people to the theatre. The scheme which was subsidised by the government hoped to encourage under 26’s to the theatre by offering them free tickets to local and West End theatre shows.
A Night Less Ordinary not only hoped to encourage young people to the theatre but also those who were interested in the arts but not financeable able to afford tickets. The scheme would also hope to benefit theatres by bringing both vibrant and relevant youth culture to the stage. Without such schemes theatres could be worryingly pushed back into the archaic and elitist notion of being only for the older and upper-middle classes of our society.
As a result of this cutback the government will claw back £100,000 of funding from the remaining budget. However, the cost to both the younger and less well off members of our society will be far greater. Those who have built an interest in the arts from this scheme may no longer be able to sustain such interest due to the financial costs. This will mean both a loss for the younger generations and the theatres as figures attending shows are sure to drop.
The cut backs will also mean that the Arts Council will no longer be able to promote the scheme and as such their Facebook group and Twitter account will be closed down in March 2011. Disappointingly this will mean that all the progress that has been made in the last year will most likely be lost.
This period of government cut backs will be a testing time for the arts who are often one of the first to suffer. We must not however ignore the significance of the arts. Our arts are a representation of our culture and therefore it is of vital importance that we both encourage and sustain it as a culture accessible to all.
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Submitted by:Suzy O'Connor Find out more.