The arts, apart from commercial cinema and theatre is a precarious industry where losses are easily incurred due to high costs and a very fragmented market. Sponsorship and grants play an important part in these. The public sector plays the most crucial part in funding arts. At the top is the Arts Council, which in 1999 gave out �188 million in grants. Much of this came from the National Lottery. Some of it was given out to Regional Arts Boards who then fund local projects. Much of the grant aid is given directly to organisations or individuals.
The Arts Council is not the only national public sector organisation to be involved in the arts. One important group is The British Film Institute (BFI) which is responsible for supporting film makers, and the promotion of the British film industry. Local authorities play an important role as well. They employ arts development officers who promote the arts locally and will support local artists. Some larger authorities employ established artists in residence, who work in the area promoting their art and creating commissioned pieces. Local Authorities are major providers of galleries and performance space such as town hall stages or community theatres or even parish halls. In some cases, such as the Lyric Theatre at Hammersmith, London is a part owner of a commercial theatre.
Voluntary sector groups also contribute to this sector. Many trusts exist to develop minority arts or provide for specialist audiences. For example, Wolf and Water in Devon is a drama trust dedicated to working with people with special needs. Entertainment Classified as entertainment are popular performing arts and spectacles. The voluntary sector is important here as nationwide participation in amateur dramatics and music is a popular pursuit. Public provision is also evident but has changed in recent years. Thirty years ago most town halls and civic entertainments programme of films, theatre and musicals. This has largely disappeared now and has been replaced by events programmes that are organised by various departments. For example, many sports centres will host travelling theatre and ballet companies such as the Royal Exchange Theatre Group, while arts officers will book in tourism exhibitions. In the streets and parks outside, groups are invited to put on events such as the hot-air balloon events in Bristol’s Parks.
It is the private sector that monopolises entertainment. There is a flourishing small-business sector that includes pub entertainments and single artists such as party and street entertainers, but the bulk of the market is contained within three areas: 1.cinemas 2. Theatre 3. Stadia/arenas
Cinema-was very popular in the first half of the 20th century. Then when colour televisions and video players appeared cinemas started to lose there appeal to the public. Cinema companies were not refurbishing their buildings, most of which were built in the 1930’s, and were finding profit by selling them off as bingo halls. Some survived by aiming at niche markets(e.g. Corner House in Manchester). These ‘art house’ cinemas show foreign films. The main market is for commercial English-language films. In the 1980s there was a major review of how films were presented. This resulted in multiplexes being invented. They are equipped with the following features:
The closest multiplex cinema around is the Warner Brothers Village in Longwell Green. This complex has all the features shown above Theatre-the London theatres are highly profitable with a city audience and a huge tourist market. Even then, they increasingly stick to a formula of musicals or familiar plays with big name actors. For example Chitty Chitty Bang Bang was shown at London’s Palindrome with Michael Ball starring in it. The package largely consists of touring West End shows, nostalgia and tribute bands, comedians and spectacles like circus and ice shows.