Rachael Fagan on funding the arts through collaboration and community

Rachael Fagan is an actor and South West Councillor for Equity – the performing arts and entertainment trade union.

In this interview, Rachael shares her thoughts on the challenges of arts funding, and how collaboration can help sustain and strengthen the future of the cultural sector.

 

Tell us a bit about your work in the cultural sector and what drew you to this field. 

I am an actor, deviser, writer and have also been a part time acting lecturer. I have worked using my acting skills on stage, in a prison, on award winning films and TV programmes and performed on the streets of Bristol and at some of its most beloved cultural locations. My work takes me to unexpected places where I am able to have transformative experiences with fellow creatives and audiences. 

I also have a company called Persiflage Productions. Persiflage means bantering talk and my work in the culture sector involves a lot of talking – about the things that really matter. I also currently sit in the South West seat on the National Council for Equity, the performing arts and entertainment trades union because our industry faces many challenges.

I have always been looking for connection and to communicate with my fellow human beings. Live performance has always been key to how I view and experience the world, its dynamic energy is a place I feel most alive. It is a privilege to be able to communicate with others and together explore how we think about and view the world.

 

What do you feel are some of the current challenges within the cultural sector and how would you suggest these could be addressed? 

Arts funding has become a political football, we need to stop this and control the narrative. Arts are for everyone; regardless of your age, race, religion, social class or political perspective.

How do we solve this? 

We need to be clear in who the arts are for – which is everyone. We need to engage in some joined up thinking and do some straight talking. Funding bodies and local council decision makers need to talk to each other and change the top down, overly complicated funding application processes we all struggle with. Current funding criterias are overly verbose, competitive and do not promote a collaborative process between arts organisations and between those organisations and freelancers. If we want the arts to be for everyone then the projects that receive funding need to reflect that wide demographic, and the process of applying for funding needs to change.

Arts funding is seen by some as some kind of handout. 

How do we solve this?

The arts are an economic powerhouse, investment in arts and entertainment jobs and infrastructure pays dividends. The arts perform a multiplier effect on the economy, with research by Arts Council England showing that for every £1 of turnover directly generated by the arts and culture industry, an additional £1.23 worth of turnover is supported in the wider economy.  

We need to say this out loud more often in meetings – the arts are an economic powerhouse. We need to speak to the local councillors who are being asked to place social care funding against funding the arts. Economically as stated above and socially for the local citizens this does not make any sense. A range of research is examining the way in which creative industries and the arts positively impact wellbeing. Human beings since the dawn of time have had a need to be creative and express themselves. Not funding the arts is a regressive act against society itself.

 

How do you think the regional cultural sector could benefit from a Citizens’ Assembly model or other democratic decision-making tools? 

I have high hopes for the Citizens’ Assembly. I believe in people, their ability to bring about positive and meaningful change, but for too long cultural funding decisions have been in the hands of the few and applying for funding has been divisive. By bringing together a regional strategy, led by a democratic decision making process, I believe we can be an example of what you can do when the c word actually happens. Collaboration that is. I think collaboration would mean organisations could work on more projects together, sharing skills and other resources including people. The arts are full of people who have amazing skill sets and who are adaptable, and yet often good practice is not shared across organisations because of current funding practices. More of the project funding money should be spent on making the work and actually paying the creatives. 

 

What are your hopes for the future of Arts and Culture in the West of England? 

I hope that through this process we can become an example of how a collaborative, open, democratic process can bring about meaningful change to the arts and culture offer for a large geographical area. I hope that the arts become something that is experienced frequently by the many, not just the few, and provides a positive impact to their lives. Do I expect getting to that point to be easy? No. But if we want arts and culture to really mean something we have to get stuck into this process. 

Everyone has an opinion about art and rightly so, as it belongs to all of us and is a social record of how people are feeling and the experiences they are seeking to communicate – the connection we are all craving in this crazy modern world. 

I welcome the chance to talk about what art we all want to experience, who gets to make that work, how we treat those artists and how we help them to thrive in our area. At many arts events the freelance workers are often absent – how is that right? A more open democratic and collaborative funding and working process would create a firm platform for future creatives working and living in our area and invites a dialogue between artists and the citizens they seek to engage with.

 

What are your thoughts on the upcoming Citizens’ Assembly for Culture in the West of England? 

I hope for a really open and honest process. Where all voices are heard and uncomfortable truths are acknowledged. It is such a great opportunity to start with a blank page and say – how can we all do better? How do we make the decisions on funding fairly? How do we ensure that arts workers are treated fairly and how do we make art more inclusive for everyone?

 

Anything else you would like to add?

Freelance arts workers are often exploited for their creative skills, treated unfairly and then not paid according to their skills. This is not the wild west. We have laws, contracts and protections for workers. Artists have families and bills to pay like everyone else, why do arts funders not insist that those they give funding to pay the freelancers properly? Many artists are from working class backgrounds who leave their profession as it becomes untenable to have a family or keep a roof over their head. Should the arts just be for the wealthy to explore?