ICA closure and Arts Council funding
March 10, 2010
More noise about the ICA’s perilous position this week, with another article in Time Out about the possibility of closure and much finger pointing at Artistic Director Ekow Eshun. But what really startles is the fact that on top of it’s regular £1.4million grant from the Arts Council last summer they pumped in another £1.2 million from their ‘emergency recession’ fund. So if the ICA closes, what happens to that extra £1.2 million? I’m guessing it’s unlikely to make it’s way back to the Arts Council coffers. Which begs the question, is this acceptable? Did the ICA submit a realistic, sustainable plan about how it was going to continue? And how thorough was the Arts Council’s consideration of this plan? Because for it to be failing after receiving over £2.5 million in 1 year, really does begger belief. It’s either a sustainable organisation, in which case it should be making do on it’s regular grant, or it’s not, in which case why did they throw good money after bad? It’s obvious that the ICA is being badly run, recession or no recession. So how can it continue to eat up valuable funds in a time of grant-freezing and cutting? Some answers from Ekow Eshun and the Arts Council need to be heard.
