London: Britain’s thriving arts sector is in despair about the vote to leave the European Union, fearing that funding cuts and freedom of movement restrictions will have serious consequences. Now some of the funding pipelines are to be cut off for good while rich, homegrown donors begin to feel the pinch of renewed austerity. As European grants dwindle, so the smaller seedbed organisations that have inspired and developed British talent will shrink.
New limits to freedom of movement could well deter potential job exchanges, while tens of thousands of valuable visiting arts students may put Britain further down their list of attractive places to acquire learning, according to a report in the Guardian. In the aftermath of last month’s referendum result, performers and fans at the Glastonbury festival formed a heart in a pro-EU flash mob while musicians gave a spontaneous performance of Beethoven’s “Ode To Joy” — Europe’s anthem — in central London.
“I had a horrible dream in which I found out on a train that the Brexit vote had won, and yelled out in fury,” top British cellist Steven Isserlis told Classic FM radio. “I woke up, was relieved that it had been a dream, switched on my computer and saw the dream had come true.” Josie Rourke, artistic director of London's Donmar Warehouse theatre, wrote: “Canada?” on Twitter, apparently joking about where to move. Top choreographer Matthew Bourne added that he considered the result to be “such a mess and not about the GB (Great Britain) I know and love”.
While it is too early to know the precise impact of Brexit on sectors from music to cinema, museums to theatre, most insiders are united in their pessimism. John Smith, general secretary of the Musicians' Union, the trade union for 30,000 professional musicians, said his initial reaction to the vote was “profound depression”. Then there are the grants which many sectors receive from the EU. Cinema has been a particular beneficiary, with funding from the MEDIA programme for Britain’s film, TV and digital industry totaling nearly $145 million since 2007.
