Birmingham is experiencing its own small Wikileaks moment. Created in Birmingham has cautiously pointed people to a City Council ‘discussion document’ which outlined a possible Arts Budget over the next three years. In essence it lists the Cities funded organisations in rank order from those who get the most down to those who currently get nothing but were encouraged to apply for some, and draws a line across the page about a quarter of the way down. Those below the line get nothing those above ‘get away with’ significant cuts. Obviously this is causing much agro. The Council have responded saying ‘of course this isn’t going to happen, it’s just a thought piece’ and pointing to a sum at the foot of the page which is a budget for organisations to bid into annually. There’s a big meeting today where people have been invited to go and shout at a councillor.

Coincidently, The Big Give is currently encouraging to display our Big Society credentials (in researching this link I notice that, post-election, the green leaves of the Tory tree logo have become a Union Jack, as a result they now look less like the Greens and more like the National Front). So far LIFT, MAC and Pentabus have emailed inviting us to give them some money which will then be matched, doubling the give, making it Big. I’m inclined to give to all three.

If we gave LIFT £10K, it’s doubled to £20k and they commissioned us to make a show for £20K we’d be £10k up on the deal. MAC insisted on paying me for a bit of work I didn’t want to be paid for, now I can give them that money back and have it double – shamefully I have yet to chip in towards the rebuild so that will ease my conscience and finally Pentabus are just good sorts and their old van is knackered. Carpe diem.