Tuesday, March 16, 2010

£20,000? I'll Eat My Hat! And His Too!

A little bird tells me that mARgaTe's mad hatter's sea party on Saturday (see item below) was bounteously funded from the public purse to the tune of 20 grand!

Well, er, probably not just that event, but the month long 'Dead Season Live Art Margate' project apparently rinsed that amount out of the Arts Council of the South East. And has mostly been attended by the artists and, er, other artists.

For 20K I certainly would expect more than a few boxes on heads. Surely if we'd handed out a fiver to the first 4,000 people to arrive at Margate station it would have attracted more visitors and done more for the town's economy?

15 comments:

Michael Child said...

Richard I have just read the following on their website:

“As holiday makers and day-trippers flock to the beach to enjoy the sun and seaside amusements, Margate like many seaside towns, comes to life in the summer. But, in the winter, many of the outdoor amusements and even some of the businesses who trade during the summer, close down. It is Margate’s Dead Season.

Looking at the annual life cycle of seaside towns, and drawing on the rich traditions, myths and rituals of life, death and rebirth, Limbo aims to breathe new life into winter.”

I think particularly in view of their thoughts on businesses being perceived as people – presumably in their eyes this would mean that they saw the Margate shops coming alive, literally – it gives some hint as to what they may have spent the money on.

I also noticed that part of their support comes from KCC.

Peter C said...

Does this include the wrestling on the beach a couple of weeks back too? They are clearly using the "art" tag to get funding for family entertainment & early morning strolls - & getting away with it!

Peter C said...

Oh, and perhaps they could've used a little of this budget to put ads in the local press + a few posters up so that people actually knew about it beforehand?

Readit said...

Peter, is there anyone in Margate who could design the posters?

Anonymous said...

I think they should pay for an event where people in Margate put bags on their heads .

It's not art it's just a good idea .

Don Wood said...

Can I get funding if I wear a silly hat? Oh I already do forget that unless anyone has a sillier hat for me

Anonymous said...

This project is old hat :The Box People

Anonymous said...

Passe, childish and tired.
Designed to conform to funding standards. ie for the money.
Conceptual modern art?
Are you joking??
These people have no interest in Margate, they are not from here anyway.
I use the word 'people' instead of 'artists' or 'Artists'.
Nepotism of the higest order, they should be ashamed of themselves.

STOP ALL ARTS FUNDING FOR 5 YEARS.
DEAD STOP.

Anonymous said...

Heh... 5 years?

That *would leave the field open for working Artists to ply their trade. Rather than what we have now, a bunch of 'art professionals' (administrators on large salaries), who have skewed the funding process so much, all we are left with is favouritism, cronyism and a funding world of childrens (inclusive) projects and 'site specific' jargon.

Anonymous said...

Note that even the most opinionated of our local cllrs (from both sides) have been keeping very quite about local art funding, I wonder why this is?

Anonymous said...

Their next event has more promise.

Really looking forward to it too.

Anonymous said...

is it really a surprise that a publicly funded project, whatever it is, gets abused by freeloaders taking advantage and the money not doing what it was intended to do?

This is supposed to be regenerating the area. As far as I can see all this £20k has done so far is to bring a bunch of people to the beach for a fight, and a few more have brought some cardboard into town.

I'm from London, I live in Thanet, i visit the tate modern, whitechapel gallery often, but I have no fucking clue what a dozen people wearing strangely shaped cardboard boxes means.
?

Anonymous said...

so these c?nts p!ss £20k up the wall on f@ckwits walking around margate with cardboard boxes on their head, and Ramsgate and Broadstairs visitor centre closes (the two thanet towns with the most visitors) but Margate's stays open.

Sandy Ezekiel, Shirley Tomlinson, Roger Latchford - you are all utter c@nts

Anonymous said...

Beach fights and littering, sounds very familiar to me, a Margate resident.

Anonymous said...

I think that the first 3 letters of conceptual really give it away. The director of the Turner centre has been conning a salary for the last 10 years ? £20K is small change compared to that, barely enough to cover RS's pay rise last year.