Arts funding ‘dependent on woke targets’

ARTS chiefs have been accused of waging an ‘American-style culture war’ by linking cash grants to an international campaign that backs ‘unlearning’ whiteness.

Bodies relying on funding from the Arts Council England (ACE) are asked to agree to ‘inclusivity and relevance’ measures to promote diversity in their organisations. Those that fail to meet targets are warned they could face sanctions.

But Tory MPs have reacted in fury after discovering that ACE’s inclusivity agenda appears to be inspired by a global charity that talks about ‘unlearning’ certain work assumptions and practices.

The OF/BY/FORALL campaign suggests these could include unlearning ‘a culture of whiteness that prevented people of color [sic] from feeling included’.

Mansfield MP Ben Bradley said: ‘We don’t need an American-style culture war here. If this is how the Arts Council chooses to behave, I’ve no doubt it should be scrapped by the incoming Prime Minister.’ ACE said: ‘We have never used the term “unlearn whiteness”.’ But sources said it had paid OF/BY/ FORALL about £8,000 for a ‘oneoff’ piece of work in 2020/21.

On its website, in an ‘Inclusivity & Relevance’ section, ACE says they ‘will be asking all organisations who apply for regular investment from the Arts Council to agree on actions and targets to diversify’.

And it warns how ‘we will be introducing sanctions that will apply to organisations that fail to make sufficient progress against the targets they have set’.

However, ACE said: ‘We do not make funding conditional on inclusivity targets.’