The British Council has disclosed that they are considering selling part of their Art Collection, a decision that the organisation is reluctant to execute. Although one half of the Art Collection is protected by legal agreements and therefore cannot be sold, the other half could be lost unless direct, satisfactory action is taken by the government.
After taking a £200m emergency loan from the government during the Covid-19 pandemic, and now burdened with an outstanding debt of £197m, according to the Art Newspaper, the Council is starting to see little alternative. It faces interest payments of £14m per year, according to the Guardian, and the loan has to be renewed each year, contributing to significant financial insecurity.
The Council’s chief executive, McDonald, is seeking “reasonable loan terms” as well as “a lower interest rate”. The Council also proposed giving its art collection, valued at £200m, to the government, rather than paying in monetary funds, but this offer was rejected.
McDonald emphasised that the urgency of the Council’s situation “is not just for headlines”. If a renegotiation does not transpire, the organisation will “be in real danger of disappearing” within the next decade.
The Art Collection, founded in 1938, comprises almost 9000 artworks, all of which are modern and contemporary. Featuring 1500 artists, the Collection features those who have shaped the landscape of British art, including Barbara Hepworth, Lucian Freud, Vanessa Bell and Tracey Emin. The Council is also instrumental in the arts and education. It promotes accessibility in the UK but, with an active presence in 100 countries, its impact is felt globally.
Moira Lindsay, head of the Collection, described in September 2024 that the Council aims “to offer access and invite other voices to explore, show and use the Collection”. The Collection, Lindsay emphasised, “guarantees consistent access to renowned modern UK artists and styles, which not only strengthens our ability to foster cultural exchange but also enhances our role in sharing British culture and creativity on a global scale.”
The British Council receives £160m per year, 15% of its income from public funds. In comparison to equivalent organisations such as Alliance Française, which receives £600m from the French government, and the Goethe-Institut’s funding of £900m from the German government, the UK government’s support to the Council is remarkably low.
Keir Starmer spoke in March 2024 at the Labour Creative Conference of his aims to widen accessibility in the cultural sector which he claimed, under a Labour government, “won’t be treated as a luxury, but as a necessity”. He stated that the arts are “essential to our economic growth and our national identity” and mourned the decline of education and accessibility in the arts under the (then) Conservative government.
Whilst Starmer pledged that “from day one, Labour will reform the school accountability framework, to make sure arts count”, his commitment doesn’t seem to have gone much further than this speech. Indeed, his attack on the former Conservative government – it had “no recognition of its fundamental role in the economy, health, education or our global standing, no plan to harness the potential of the creative industries, no ambition to safeguard the future of the industry by prioritising creativity in schools” – seems nothing short of hypocritical.
“Yale Center for British Art” by t_a_i_s is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.