Abstract

Since the 1990s, English public support for the arts has drawn closer to the continental model of administration of culture while retaining and even creating idiosyncracies: funds are increasing but come partly from the National Lottery rather than taxes, and they are still distributed by Non-Departmental Public Bodies. However, the State intervenes more directly than in the past, and public opinion accepts public funding of culture more readily. One may wonder if there is still a style of arts administration characteristic of England, and in this case, what its features are. This article analyses the relationship between the State and the arts supported by Arts Council England, a NDPB responsible for distributing public funds to live and visual arts organisations in line with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport’s policy.