It brought a ray of sunshine to my work! It's an impressive document, well thought out and it suggests to me that the consultation part of the review is real and not just an empty exercise - quite a novelty to us in the arts.
It questions the continued existence of longstanding systems and structures, some of which are well past their sell-by date. There is little place for the 1950s-type structures and ways of doing things in today's fast moving world.
I love the notion that the arts sector itself - the artists and arts organisations - is being asked how its ideas could best be heard. I am heartened with the document's use of the word "over-arching" and the fact that it talks about the need to re-orientate and reshape how things are planned, managed and delivered.
Although a first perusal of the document could give the impression that it's just about structures (or actual organisations), it suggests to me that there is an understanding in the department that you ought to start with policy, progress to a plan within the over-arching policy and then design the structures to make the policy - and the plan - work.
Perhaps now we can have a real discussion about fundamentals rather than the usual tinkering with what's already there. I wish the document had included copies of the Arts Act in the appendix - then everyone could see how archaic the parameters really are.
