ACE Under Fire

At a meeting attended by nearly 500 members, the actors union Equity passed a motion of no confidence in Arts Council England. Coxsoft Art News has been passing motions about Arts Council England for the last two years, but from a different angle! When it comes to visual art, ACE wastes huge sums of tax-payers' money on dross that has no artistic merit. As a low-paid worker, I'm angered by the financial burden which Gordon Brown has inflicted on workers like me, in order to make Britain a haven for the rich. There is no doubt that the gap between rich and poor widened under Gordon Brown's rule as Chancellor of the Exchequer. ACE has wasted a fortune in tax-payers' money on statues that are never put on public display, presumably because they are so awful that it daren't let the public see them. I don't know of one worthwhile visual artist in the UK who has been supported by ACE. When it comes to artistes such as actors, dancers, musicians, ACE may have supported some genuine young talent here or there, but its record on visual art is zilch. Give me a tax break, Gordon, and sack the mandarins of ACE.