To all those concerned,
I am writing in complaint at the proposed cut in Arts Council funding for the London Musicians' Collective.
I have been attending experimental music events since 1983 when I was a shy eighteen year-old with a burgeoning interest in all things related to sound and the far reaches of musical expression. I have been amazed and inspired by what I have seen and heard over twenty five years in London, at events which have quenched my cultural appetite and remain remarkably alive in memory. The majority of these experiences can be attributed (directly or otherwise) to one small organization - the London Musicians' Collective (LMC).
The LMC works tirelessly to promote experimental music, sound art, and multimedia collaboration, and has added community radio to its list of resounding accomplishments. In recent years, the LMC annual music festival has played to sold-out audiences at venues such as the ICA, and the mixed-media events hosted by the LMC for its radio station Resonance 104.4FM have been hugely successful. These and other LMC initiatives spawn replicas all over the world from their imitators and admirers.
This large amount of work which services an ever-expanding cultural taste cannot happen without staff and without resources. The daily slog to keep the organization's nose above water would not be possible without the grant that the LMC has enjoyed for many years as a regularly funded organization of the Arts Council. Nor could the LMC survive without the countless individuals who give freely of their time and energy to sustain the community that is the LMC by producing its publications, serving on its board and helping run events. As with most successful artistic endeavours, a vast amount of the work that is done is both unpaid and invisible.
The community that relies on the work of the LMC has grown exponentially during the past five years due to the Resonance radio project. This has mushroomed from an experiment into a valued life experience for a significant number of Londoners. It has produced numerous collaborations, many regular new music events, new art-forms for radio and has created a hub for thousands of artists of all types to meet, explore and create. Resonance is the embodiment of the spirit of the LMC, born from a mixture of generosity and curiosity, drawing on the experiences discovered throughout thirty years of constantly evolving work in the field of experimental music. It has been argued that the radio station itself can be considered a work of art. It is certainly influential, far-sighted, changeable and immensely valuable due to the vision of its licence-holder, the LMC.
My current work as an experimental musician and radio artist stems directly from the work of the London Musicians' Collective. This is true for many other internationally-respected artists. The LMC gave us inspiration, and then gave us a voice. For those of us lucky enough to get involved in the operations of the LMC, our lives will never be the same. Over the years the LMC has given birth to dozens of self-organized groups who offer regular music events in London. There is no comparable music organization: the LMC creates no distance between itself, the music and the participants, be they artists or audience. I know of no other related organization that is able to allow its audience to naturally evolve into its next generation of artists.
As it is proposed by the Arts Council to cut the London Musicians' Collective funding from April next, I would like answers to the following questions:
1. Is the Arts Council interested in passion, interest and expertise, engagement on a human scale with the arts in the widest context?
2. Does it matter to the Arts Council that the next generation of experimental musicians and sound artists will find it difficult to draw inspiration and support from less-accessible organizations then left to fill the void?
3. Does the Arts Council think it sensible for a world-respected cultural centre such as London to undermine a world-respected organization such as the LMC?
4. Is it important to the Arts Council to fund organizations that encourage artists to be free to develop in their chosen direction, with no template ruling the outcome?
5. Can London afford to discard such a solid influence on the cultural development of the city?
London will change without the LMC, whose guiding principles of cultural efficacy and authenticity will be lost. London, as ever, will be seen to be putting on a show, yet with a huge hole in its soul. The repercussions will be felt internationally, and there will be a lack of something very special in the heart of London's experimental music scene.
It is obvious to me that the LMC is a treasure, and not just for London. As such it must be enabled to continue its meaningful work. I am at an utter loss to imagine a better way to fund a core cultural activity in London than to carry on supporting the London Musicians' Collective.
I ask that you respond to my comments and questions with care and attention.
Sincerely,
Sarah Washington
