CBSO joins forces with cultural bodies to fight £4m
BIRMINGHAM artists, musicians and arts bodies have joined forces to demand the city council rethinks plans to drastically reduce its arts budget.
More than 4,000 people have so far signed a petition called Love Culture, Hate Cuts organised by leading cultural organisations the CBSO, Symphony Hall and Town Hall and the MAC, in Cannon Hill Park, to protest against plans to cut arts funding by nearly 50 per cent.
The fightback follows news that the city council was proposing to slash £1 million a year for the next four years from the arts budget. The cuts would impact all types of organisations, from Birmingham’s worldfamous orchestra, the Birmingham Royal Ballet, and prestige music venues to grassroots community funds for aspiring artists.
The City of Birmingham Sympho- ny Orchestra (CBSO) is leading the charge and says the cuts would be “catastrophic” for the city.
It received £672,000 of city council funding this year.
A spokesman said: “Even without the proposed cut this is more than £400,000 per year below local government funding for equivalent orchestras in Manchester and Liverpool.
“We have done all we can to maintain the excellence and breadth of our work...we already bring in more money from our ticket sales than any orchestra in the country, our fundraising has increased from £450,000 to £1.6 million per year since 2010, and our musicians and staff have accepted sub-inflationary pay increases every year for a decade.
“As a result, we continue to enrich the lives of tens of thousands of children each year, engage over 200,000 audience members with live music, boost the economy by attracting countless visitors to Birmingham, and fly the flag for the city as one of the world’s great orchestras by attracting invitations to leading concert venues worldwide.”
Signatories to the CBSO-led petition have expressed their frustration about the pending cuts:
One says simply: ‘Art makes Brum great!’
Another says: “We so need music and theatre in our lives in these confused times. This cultural asset is too valuable to lose. One cannot put a price on music for making people happy.
“A large city without its cultural life will turn into a lifeless provincial town.”
“Great technological achievement is not enough without cultural life, which gives spiritual strength and richness to the city and its people. Please stop cutting!” demands another protester.
“We need access to the arts in Birmingham for our well-being and mental health. The cuts over the past is what few years have been awful; we see arts organisations in our city struggling to make ends meet.
“MAC was a huge part of my childhood and remains an important part of so many people’s lives. I believe providing access to free exhibitions, workshops and performances is something we as a community and Birmingham City Council should be proud to protect.”
Another wrote: “Culture adds variety and spice to our lives.
“It helps define the identity of the city and brings large numbers of visitors. We cannot become a backwater as other large cities provide greater support to music and arts than Birmingham.
“The arts are so important to peoples’ lives and yet are already so under-funded that to cut the budget further is an act of complete idiocy.”
Protesters attended the city council’s only public meeting to discuss its budget cuts on Wednesday at the Council House.
Cabinet member for education, skills and culture, Councillor Jayne Francis, has pledged to visit affected organisations to discuss the proposals.
The plans have triggered fears of higher ticket prices, reduced outreach and community work – and could even sound the death knell for the most financially fragile organisations.
Julian Lloyd Webber, principal of Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, has previously blasted the city coun-
We so need music and theatre in our lives in these confused times Petitioner