EBacc must include arts, say dealers

Dealers at one of London’s biggest commercial art fairs today called for culture to be part of the Government’s core education plans.

Directors of 70 per cent of the galleries at this week’s 25th London Art Fair said the arts should be included in Education Secretary Michael Gove’s new English Baccalaureate qualification.

“If you want to develop people with inquiring minds, I think that the arts should be part of the EBacc,” said Jonathan Burton, director of the fair.

In a sign that it is not just the subsidised sector of the arts world that is concerned about Coalition arts policies, more than half said the Government had had a negative impact on the art world, with another third saying it had done nothing to help.

None of the 56 galleries questioned in a survey felt that the Government had been good for the arts, echoing concerns from arts leaders including Sir Nicholas Hytner, director of the National Theatre, and Sir Nicholas Serota, director of the Tate.

Serota was named in the survey as the most influential Londoner in the art world, ahead of collector Charles Saatchi, who has a gallery off the Kings Road, and Jay Jopling, the owner of White Cube gallery, in third place.

Two thirds of those questioned thought that London was the capital of the art market because of the vibrancy of the city’s arts scene, its importance as a global financial centre and the concentration of world-class museums and galleries.

One in 10 thought the art market would have a worse year in 2013, but most thought it would stay the same, while 46 per cent were confident that it would fare better.

Mr Burton said: “It is clear that exhibitors are entering 2013 optimistic about the year ahead.”

The fair opens at the Business Design Centre in Islington on Wednesday and runs until Sunday. Tickets from £12. www.londonartfair.co.uk