In the Arts: Major British Patrons Warn Against Arts Spending Cuts

In a letter to British Prime Minister David Cameron, several of the country’s leading arts patrons warn that philanthropic groups will not be able to make up for a planned 25- to 40-percent reduction in government arts spending, The Independent reports.

The letter, signed by five donors who have collectively given millions in British pounds to the Tate Galleries, the British Library, and other institutions, said philanthropy should be a complement to rather than a substitute for state money. The signatories said the American financial model, for which Mr. Cameron’s government has professed enthusiasm, relies on tax breaks, which Britain does not offer.

The country’s Art Council says 30-percent cuts over the next four years would sever funds to at least 200 of the 850 organizations the government currently supports and would eliminate thousands of jobs.

In other arts news, the board of the Los Angeles Community Redevelopment Agency approved the billionaire philanthropist Eli Broad’s plan to build a downtown museum, but a rival suitor has emerged for the same site, says the Los Angeles Times.

At Thursday’s board hearing, Shen Yun Performing Arts, an international Chinese performance company now located in New York, presented its proposal for a 3,000-seat theater and training center on the downtown parcel eyed by Mr. Broad, who wants to build a $100-million home for his massive modern-art collection.

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