Of Renaissance Interiors and Stonehenge.

In a recent report, Past, Present and Future: The Public Value of the Humanities and Social Sciences, the head of the British Academy, Sir Adam Roberts, stresses the value of the arts not only in economic terms, but in relation to "public value."

Timed to coincide with last week's Universities Week, Sir Adam's booklet argues for recognition of the arts outside a two-cultures framework: art history, archeology, and the culture industries in general, contribute not only to the GDP of this country, but also are vital for the definition of self and society. To exemplify art history's contribution to public life, Sir Adam cites the phenomenally successful show At Home in Renaissance Italy at the V & A in London (2006-7), which brought the fine and decorative arts into productive and stimulating interaction with one another- it also had a huge impact on the public and the community. The Ghirlandaio reproduced here wasn't in the show of course, but it's one of my favourite images of renaissance domesticity.

To quote from the report:  

" A sample of the 70, 970 visitors to AHIRI, interviewed to gauge how they benefited from their visit, revealed that the exhibition had made a direct contribution to their "life-long learning", "deepened social identity", "strengthened social cohesion" and "stimulated creativity."

The report goes on to state, "The economic benefits of AHIRI were estimated at 2.85 million on the London economy and 1.33 million on the U.K. economy."

Sir Adam and other political/media heavyweights like Melvin Bragg are keen to move beyond the idea that the so-called STEM subjects (Science, Technology, Engineering, Maths) "are the keys to the success of universities, and to national economic recovery." Amongst these is David "Two- Brains" Willets.

Really? I'd never have guessed. Pity he spent most of the last two weeks attacking universities and proposed turning them into glorified secondary schools; not to mention the cuts to HEFC which will impact on university museums.

Sir Adam's report is extremely timely: a ringing endorsement of the arts and humanities in a society that needs them more than ever to combat the malaise of the banker mentality. Yet, this report is likely to be ignored by a government whose first cultural "initiative" is to axe funding for a visitors' centre at Stonehenge. Past, Present, and Future, as its title implies, is equally concerned with historical civilizations, and the role of archaeology in public life. As Jonathan Jones said last week in a critique of the ConDem coalition, archaeology is immensely popular and this Stonehenge-bashing is the final betrayal of a cherished and globally admired landmark.

As for renaissance interiors, I doubt if the V & A exhibition was troubled by the presence of any politicians of any persuasion. Politicians and bankers supported the arts in renaissance Italy, unlike the current crop of philistines.

Here's a PDF of Past, Present and Future: The Public Value of the Humanities and Social Sciences.

Download BAPPF

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