More than 20 members of parliament want to abolish the English Art Council on the grounds that its leaders are waging a ‘cultural war’ in the way of the United States.
The demand comes as it was revealed that ACE is linking over £400 million per year in funding subsidies to a global campaign that supports “unlearning” whiteness.
All entities receiving ACE financing must adopt “inclusivity and relevance” measures to encourage diversity or risk penalty.
The MPs condemned the guidance, stating, “It introduces the extremely dangerous American-style culture wars into this nation, which is something we all wish to avoid.”
More than 20 Tory MPs are advocating for the elimination of England’s primary cultural organisation on the grounds that it uses public funds to wage a ‘culture war’ in the American model.
Unless it can be improved, they asked Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries to consider axing the Arts Council England (ACE) and replace it with a “less controversial organisation.”
The demand comes as the Mail on Sunday reported last week that ACE is tying more than £400 million each year in funding subsidies to a global campaign that supports ‘unlearning’ whiteness.
Museums, galleries, and other organizations that rely on ACE financing are being required to agree to “inclusive and relevant” methods to encourage diversity, with consequences looming for those who fail to meet their goals.
If it cannot be changed, more than 20 Tory MPs asked Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries to consider abolishing the Arts Council England (ACE) and replacing it with a “less controversial organization.”
The terms for the critical new three-year cycle of ‘National Portfolio’ arts awards appear to have been influenced by a charity in the United States that discusses ‘unlearning’ certain habits, such as ‘whiteness.
ACE has denied making financing contingent on fulfilling inclusion standards, but releasing guidance that threatens consequences against organizations that fail to do so.
In a scathing letter to Ms. Dorries, 22 Tory MPs, including Sir John Hayes, chairman of the party’s Common Sense Group, said they were appalled to learn that ACE was “awarding grants of taxpayers’ money to organizations that comply with a racially-motivated agenda, and threatening sanctions to enforce it.”
The legislators, notably Red Wall Conservatives Lee Anderson and Ben Bradley, made it very apparent that such a use of public funds could not be justified given that “our constituents are already suffering an unparalleled cost-of-living crisis.”
Yet the rewards of their labor are utilized to divide society and advance discriminatory policies.
The MPs condemned the ACE guidance, adding, “It imports the really destructive American-style culture wars into this nation, which is something we all wish to avoid.”
The demand comes as the Mail on Sunday reported last week that ACE is tying annual cash donations of over £400 million to a global campaign that supports “unlearning” whiteness.
They informed the Culture Secretary, “The Arts Council is in dire need of change, and if it cannot be reformed, it should be abolished and replaced with a less controversial organization.”
In instructions posted on its website, ACE states, “We shall require all organizations applying for regular investment from the Arts Council to commit to steps and targets to diversity their governance, leadership, workforce, programming, and audiences as a condition of receiving funding.”
Organizations will be challenged to determine “which communities are under-represented internally across their workforce, leadership and governing bodies, as well as across their programming and audiences.”
And it cautions that “we will implement sanctions against organizations that fail to make adequate progress towards the goals they have established.”
However, the Arts Council has stated, “We do not condition financing on inclusion goals, nor have we threatened to withhold support from organizations on this basis.”
It further argued that the phrase “unlearn whiteness” has never been used.