Yinka Shonibare artwork supports campaign against arts funding cuts
Howard Lake | 28 September 2010 | News
Fourth Plinth artist Yinka Shonibare MBE is the latest artist to create a work designed to support the campaign against the government’s proposed funding cuts of the arts.
His work shows a slash across a piece of brightly coloured African fabric with the caption: “Stop Cutting”.
Shonibare uses African fabrics to explore issues about identity and culture in contemporary society, and this is evident in his commission for the Fourth Plinth in Trafalgar Square: Nelson’s Ship in a Bottle, installed in May this year, features patterned African fabrics for sails.
The campaign against the proposed cuts of the arts is supported by over 100 leading British artists, and is organised by the London branch of a national consortium of over 2,000 arts organisations and artists dedicated to working together and finding new ways to support the arts in the UK.
Each week the work of a different artist, created in response to the campaign, will be released. The campaign was launched on 10 September with a new video by David Shrigley and a campaign poster by Jeremy Deller, Scott King and William Morris. This was followed by a new work by Mark Wallinger.
Supporters of the artists’ campaign are being asked to sign a petition which will be sent to the Culture Secretary, Jeremy Hunt MP. It points out that it has taken 50 years to create a vibrant arts culture in Britain and appeals to the government not to risk destroying this long-term achievement and the social and economic benefits it brings to all.
www.savethearts.org.uk
About Howard Lake
Howard Lake is consultant editor of UK Fundraising. He founded the site in 1994 and successfully sold it in 2022. As director of Giving X Ltd he is exploring growing giving on a massive scale.
He is the founder of Fundraising Camp and co-founder of GoodJobs.