First Person with Paul Hobson

With the local elections taking place today, the contested question of funding for the arts and culture is back on the agenda.

Some of you may have been following the controversy in the national press recently about the disparity between the level of funding for arts organisations in London in comparison to those in the regions, such as Modern Art Oxford.

Whilst there appears to be no straightforward reading of the published figures that reference government spend per head on the arts in London compared to the rest of England, they do suggest a significant bias in favour of organisations in the capital.

This much is conceded by the relatively new chairman of Arts Council England, Sir Peter Bazalgette who says much needs to be done in the coming years to address the imbalance.This is especially welcome since, with an increasing need for arts organisations across the country to raise money from other sources to sustain their work, the lion’s share of sponsorship and individual giving is also directed to London.

According to recent reports, central government spending on arts and culture in London amounted to £69 per resident during 2012-13, in comparison with a measly £4.60 per person for the 85 per cent of the English population who live outside of London.

I find it hard to quantify what £4.60 spent on the arts over the course of a whole year could possibly purchase, but by any measure, publicly funded arts activity in this country has to come out of this appraisal as pretty good value for money.

I may well be biased but not so much that even as a champion for arts and culture in this city, and the local, national and international audiences we serve, I recognise that times are lean and there are very many more pressing and urgent claims on the public purse including education, healthcare and policing.

The point is this, that the amount of public money spent on the arts in England is already less than 0.05 per cent of the total annual government budget!

Modern Art Oxford is fortunate to be funded by both Arts Council England and Oxford City Council and we are also increasingly trading on our international reputation for innovative world-class art to attract individual supporters and to remain free to visitors.

What I ask is that for those of you who appreciate art and culture in your city and beyond, in whatever form this takes, to champion and support its future.

Public funding channeled to the arts is miniscule yet we are always required to make the case for relevance and impact against cries of elitism in situations where funding is being negotiated.

Think of the £4.60 apportioned from your annual tax bill and imagine how the world would look without the inspiration, entertainment and education that arts and culture bring into a majority of people’s lives. We are not asking for an increase in funding in these financially straitened times. Rather, an urgent plea to those who can hear it, not to reduce funding even further — given how much is achieved with so little investment — without risking long-term ruin to arts and culture in this country.

Paul Hobson is the director of Modern Art Oxford in Pembroke Street, Oxford