Political drama is virtually dead in Britain. Intimidated by the government and the Arts Council, arts administrators dare not show challenging work.
In the Lowdown I interview Sally Gimson, the editor of Index on Censorship, and the author of a major report on how bureaucracy and fear stifle creativity.
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Below is an essay from me on the multiple levels of censorship.
On the one hand, the arts bureaucracy silences left-wing artists.
On the other, the worst elements of the artistic left humiliate and ban gender-critical and Jewish artists. The arts are meant to be exciting and intellectually challenging but in the UK they live in a frightened little world.
(There’s a paywall, so I should say an annual sub works out at £1.15– $1.40 - a week and free trials are available.)
No one can doubt that there is a pro-left bias in the arts and that artists can find themselves in deep trouble if they refuse to conform to it. But the story does not end there.
To see how grim life can become in what should be centres of intellectual freedom, read Afraid to Speak Freely.
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