“There’s a real danger of political conformity taking over the arts” Tiffany Jenkins
Campaigns against certain sponsors of the arts have gathered momentum, and institutions are buckling under the pressure. A minority group of activists think they speak for everybody — and they don’t, actually. What we do about the problem of global warming and environmentalism is not yet settled, for example. These issues need to be debated.
There’s a real danger of political conformity taking over the arts, in which only one message is allowed. It’s really reductive and not what most people want. Institutions are beginning to lose sight of their core purpose: to show or create good art and to put on great shows at reduced prices or for free. If you look at the Royal Shakespeare Company, for example, young people want to see a particular play, not be given a lecture. Sponsors put their logos all over the entry board of exhibitions. That’s entirely reasonable. And most people don’t care who is funding a show.
The British Museum and some of the other big institutions should concentrate on showing great art to the world. Otherwise, they risk their funds declining and their pool of donors getting smaller. Relying on particular funders rather than having many sources of funding means that you have to dance to their tune. Institutions should look for funders who support their core purpose.
When activists are criticizing you as a company, why would you want to get involved in an arts institution? The consequence is less money for the arts, which has a direct impact on what audiences can see, as well as the experimental nature of the artwork that could be put on show.
The key question that institutions need to ask about funding is does this advance the arts? It’s because they don’t lecture on ethics that museums and galleries have a trusted status with the public. If they start telling people what to think and how to live, and charging them more for it because they have less funding, that trusted status will wane.
And let’s not forget that the state is not always innocent, either. It may have blood on its hands, for example if you look at the Iraq War. And state funding for the arts and culture is falling. If campaigns against corporations keep happening, there will be an even further loss of funds. It’s profoundly serious. And not something that the majority of art lovers want to see happen.