Fears for black arts

 - Poppy Brady

A LEAKED document from Birmingham City Council has revealed plans to slash the funding lifelines of several of the city's small independent black and ethnic minority arts organisations.

The news has sparked an outcry from leading members of the arts community, who feel the diverse mix of arts that has made Birmingham a vibrant cultural city for the past three decades is being sacrificed to save traditional mainstream arts.

The internal document, which appears on the art community's Created in Birmingham blog, is a response to a request from the council's chief executive to look at the impact of taking a 25 per cent cut over the next three years across the city's arts organisations.

'Cultural desert'

But the figures, which are currently only recommendations, make depressing reading for many groups.

Charles Small, CEO of the Aston-based Drum, the leading black-led arts organisation in the UK, warned that the cuts, if they go ahead, could turn Birmingham into "a cultural desert".

"I believe the city leaders have failed to recognise the importance of arts and culture in the lives of its residents," he said.

The document recommends cutting The Drum's annual funding from £435,000 to zero by 2013-14. Small said: "This would mean the end of The Drum as we know it, but we pride ourselves on not staying the same. I am the sort of person who likes to turn a threat into an opportunity."

Deirdre Figueirdo, who runs Craftspace, a crafts development organisation in the city for the past 24 years, which could lose all funding from next year, said: "We're realistic. We know cuts have to be made, but these figures send out an unfortunate message - that more value is placed on the mainstream arts organisations, not the small to medium groups that represent the independent sector.

"If these figures are true, questions need to be asked. What was the assessment of the arts-commissioning process? Who assessed the large organisations and what scrutiny was shared amongst staff and other key stakeholders?"

A Birmingham City Council spokesperson said: "chief executive Stephen Hughes earlier this week published a consultation document on the Council Business Plan. In that document, it sets out reviewing support for arts organisations. These savings are identified as £1 million in 2011-12 and £2.5 million by 2014-15. But the document is a draft, not the final version, and subject to consultation.