Arts commentators call for abolition of ACE

Two arts commentators have published a booklet calling for Arts Council England (ACE) to be abolished, claiming its 'left-wing, woke agenda' is failing to support 'art of real consequence'.

The Telegraph reports that artist and art historian Alexander Adams and David Lee, editor of The Jackdaw magazine, call the funding body’s priorities "political, not artistic" and “hostile to the taste and values of the majority population”.

“Good artists have given up patience because they have been shut out of the system for not conforming to ACE’s left-wing agenda. So, ACE has become an obstacle to the arts in this country," Adams told the newspaper. 

In response, ACE said: “The public want high-quality, world-leading art and we want to ensure that people across the country, wherever they live, have the opportunity to see and engage with brilliant work, from fantastic opera and ballet to fascinating museum collections and world-leading theatre productions."