SOAPBOX – Ali FitzGibbon responds to yesterday’s post agreeing that the price of administering public resources can be disproportionate to the budget but arguing that participative budgeting would prone to localism, dominant interests and fails to capture the boundary-smashing, crazy adventure, the surprise and imaginative leaps that are the essence of the arts.
FREE MARKET – why doesn’t it apply to the arts sector? Rather than calling for more funding for culture, why not use participatory budgeting and let the public decide on how at least some of the budget is spent?
It’s hard to make an economic case for the arts at a time when all departments face cuts and shortages. However, many believe that the survival and continued nurturing of the arts needs to be fought for, as thousands of people are employed in the sector in Northern Ireland and it is such a huge part of the social structure. In recent years, it has become more popular for people to attend the theatre (particularly affordable community theatre) and it …
