The Arts Funding Detective

Bring the curtain down on the Ben and Boris show

theartsblogs  | Charlotte Higgins

For the sake of our cultural life, politicians like Bradshaw and Johnson should leave political drama to the arts

Art and politics have always been, and always will be, locked in a complicated and often uncomfortable dance, from Velázquez's double-edged depiction of Pope Innocent X to Mark Wallinger's Turner prize-winning State Britain – a meticulous recreation of Brian Haw's Parliament Square peace camp.

But politics and art have now become entangled in a manner at best unedifying, at worst damaging, to cultural life.

Thinking of applying for an Arts Council Grant? Some tips

Notes from the End of the World: Thinking of applying for an Arts Council Grant? Some tips.

Why isn't comedy funded by the Arts Council?

Why isn't comedy funded by the Arts Council? | Stage | guardian.co.uk

The main argument against comedy being considered an art form is that it's seen to be self-funded. The UK's comedy circuit has no shortage of private individuals or companies happily making good money from well-attended gigs. There is an assumption that comedy doesn't need money; all it needs is a stage and an audience, right? Wrong. The fact is – as the theatre world knows only too well – it takes time and money to find and target an audience. It also takes time to write – it doesn't spring forth readymade from comedians' lips (unless they're really lucky). And venues, especially during festivals, are costly to hire.

Of course, it makes little sense to fund commercially robust projects with public money. But, if you think about it, that happens all the time anyway – consider the RSC, which has a healthy box office and yet still receives about £15m a year from ACE, or of Tate, which sees massive visitor figures but is funded to the tune of £54m by central government. Yet someone like Simon Munnery has been plugging away, developing new comedic technologies for which he will probably never see any huge financial reward, but which have filtered into the comedy circuit, on to TV and into saleable products. Why should he and his ilk do it for nothing?