Arts Council England's crackdown on political statements

A policy update from the funding body has sparked a row over artistic expression

A visitor views artwork at the Revolting Artists exhibition in Weymouth, England
A visitor views artwork at the Revolting Artists exhibition in Weymouth, England
(Image credit: Finnbarr Webster / Getty Images)

An Arts Council England (ACE) warning that "political statements" by artists could break funding agreements has been criticised as akin to censorship. 

In an update to ACE's "relationship framework" policies made in January, the new guidelines warned that organisations receiving ACE support that make "overtly political or activist" statements might create "reputational risk" and endanger their funding arrangements.

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 Sorcha Bradley is a writer at The Week and a regular on “The Week Unwrapped” podcast. She worked at The Week magazine for a year and a half before taking up her current role with the digital team, where she mostly covers UK current affairs and politics. Before joining The Week, Sorcha worked at slow-news start-up Tortoise Media. She has also written for Sky News, The Sunday Times, the London Evening Standard and Grazia magazine, among other publications. She has a master’s in newspaper journalism from City, University of London, where she specialised in political journalism.