A chance enquiry before Christmas has plunged Worthing Borough Council into conflict with its residents. And the outcome of this protest may signal the future of regional support for the arts in England.
Unless you are an enthusiast, it is more likely that Worthing will evoke only snippets of history. Fleeting facts like – it was first cited in the Domesday Book when it had a population of 22, and George III sent his daughter Amelia there (for the waters of course), whilst her more boisterous brother went to Brighton. Percy Bysshe Shelley also had his first two works printed there, and Oscar Wilde wrote The Importance of Being Earnest in Worthing.
Worthing has come to epitomise the ‘genteel seaside locale’ lifestyle in the temperate landscape of West Sussex. A perception magnified by the fact that it is also the home of English bowls and croquet and a large number of English retirees. But its highly attractive location and relaxed lifestyle has triggered a demographic wave that is reshaping the town. Times are changing for Worthing. Theme bars and nightclubs have hit the town, weekenders are coming for that seaside break and fabulous shopping strip, and tourist publications are talking more about its ‘dynamism’ rather than its history or gentility.
But what does all this have to do with the arts?
Worthing is home to the near century old Worthing Museum and Art Gallery. And Worthing Borough Councillors are currently reviewing the gallery’s place in the community. In plain English, this means they are looking to shut it down. The gallery itself is a mirror of grand Victorian museum culture realised on a provincial scale. It houses costume and archaeological exhibits and a respectable collection of paintings. The fine art collection is particularly rich in local artists.
Luckily, Worthing resident Steve Carroll stumbled across the plan to close the gallery down before it could be realised. It was only meant to be a quick visit, but clearly a timely one, as the staff alerted him to the fact that they were being made redundant in April 2004.
Carroll was ‘gob smacked’ at the news, and he quickly marshalled together an ever-growing number of protestors, who are, as we speak, picketing the gallery in an attempt to get their community voices heard amongst the administrative clanging of council budgets. (The council is allegedly looking to save the less than £130,000 running costs by closing the museum and gallery down).
As Carroll explains, the people of Worthing are seriously concerned about this potentially ruinous decision, yet they never would have known about it had he not started his petition, (which has now been signed by over 1200 residents). Carroll is also suspicious that the decision was in danger of being made without any community consultation. When Carroll approached the Council to find out what was really going on, they told him there were no official plans to close the Worthing Museum and Gallery. This was said despite having informed staff that they would be without work before the end of the first quarter in 2004. Whether this is a case of the left hand not knowing what the right is doing, or administrative paper shuffling is unclear.
Incongruously the Worthing Borough Council website introduces the gallery as ‘the jewel in Worthing’s crown.’ Carroll says however, that the now very public ‘Save Worthing Museum and Art Gallery Campaign’ has clearly put an end to any subterfuge.
The fact that the Worthing Borough Council is even considering closing down the main gallery and museum of West Sussex’s largest town, which is home to a collection of over 200,000 artefacts, costumes and works of art that were all bequests to the town, does not speak well of the much lauded Arts Council England’s (ACE) plans to invest £2 billion of public funds in the arts in England. As the ACE explained when they announced their intentions, ‘We believe in the transforming power of the arts – power to change the lives of people throughout the country. Our ambition is to place the arts at the heart of national life, reflecting the country’s rich and diverse cultural identity as only the arts can. We want people throughout England to experience arts activities of the highest quality. We believe that access to the arts goes hand in hand with excellence.’ This is all well and good, but they don’t seem too concerned about access to Worthing Museum and Art Gallery.
So what does local council funding have to do with the ACE? Perhaps we should take a moment to reflect on some comments by Paul Bevan, Chief Executive of the South East England Regional Assembly in 2001, before the re-centralisation of the ACE and its regional bodies was put into effect. Bevan warned: ‘Our region remains very much a poor relation in terms of arts funding, with the Arts Council seeming to take the view that the South East is nothing more than London’s hinterland, and as such does not warrant investment that reflects its role as the UK’s largest region. You will understand that this history does not give us confidence that the absorption of our independent regional voice into the command structure of a single corporate entity for England, run from London, will result in the share of resources we believe this region deserves.’
He also went on to caution: ‘Many [local] councils provide substantial arts development resources directly to local bodies. Simply overlooking this important contribution may itself place the future of local authority arts funding in jeopardy. It will be important that the new arrangements foster coherence and enable complementarity at the local level. The new ACE should not imagine that the important job of establishing a working relationship on regional policy matters with the Assembly ‘covers off’ the practical partnership that remains a key requirement with local authorities.’
Steve Carroll and other Worthing residents also believe the closing of Worthing Museum and Art Gallery has more to do with politics than art. The trend to fund the arts poorer regions of the North of England is nothing new. Yet is this to be done at the expense of existing institutions in the richer South? Is the South the latest villain in the current climate of re-centralisation and funding because of its more active and lucrative arts and culture sector? And is this taking from the rich to give to the poor scheme necessarily the most productive solution?
Ironically, if the bottom line is about money, it was recently reported in the ‘Disability Arts Newsletter’ that a significant amount of money was spent in 2003 to improve access for disabled people at the Worthing Museum and Art Gallery. Now this will be money badly spent if the gallery is closed
In 2000, the Government’s Urban White Paper was acclaimed as a great idea – revolutionary even. It looked to provide a certain quality of life and sustainable development in all towns across England – north and south. Yet if something as simple as maintaining the Worthing Museum and Art Gallery falls between the cracks, then surely this jingoism is nothing more than a hollow echo?
In the 2003 Spring update of the neighbouring ACE South West, Executive Director Nick Capaldi reminisced that the 2002 merger of the Regional Arts Boards and Arts Council of England was ‘One of the most significant developments in the fifty-six year history of the Council and its partners in the arts.’ And that this unified body would provide: ‘greater leadership for the arts; greater financial flexibility; less red tape and a strengthened voice in making the case for the arts.’ Let’s hope Capaldi is correct and Bevan’s prophecies amount to little more than generational change.
For Carroll and the ‘Save Worthing Museum and Art Gallery’ campaigners though, time is of the essence. They don’t have the luxury of watching the political pendulum swing, and the next generation of Worthing residents may very well grow up without this community icon. As Steve Carroll urged on the ‘Save Worthing Art Gallery and Museum website: ‘Our museum in Worthing has a wonderful collection, which has taken over a hundred years to put together. Take that away from us and our town’s educational facility will take a huge step backwards. What was Mr. Blair’s catch phrase when he was elected? “Education! Education! Education!” Bring your children – save their heritage!’
For more information on the ‘Save Worthing Museum and Art Gallery Campaign’ see www.saveworthingmuseum.com
