Arts Council England takes on six new national members
NewsStatement by DCMS:
The Secretary of State has appointed YolanDa Brown, Jamie Njoku-Goodwin, and Abigail Pogson as National Council Members for Arts Council England for four year terms, from 15 May 2022 until 14 May 2026. William Bush, Deborah Shaw and Veronica Wadley (Baroness Fleet) have been appointed as National Council Members for Arts Council England for three year terms, from 15 May 2022 until 14 May 2025.
Pogson runs the Sage concert hall in Gateshead. Shaw is CEO of the Marlowe theatre in Canterbury. Fleet served on the ACE from 2010 to 2018. There are tricky times ahead, especially in the orchestral sector.
Do the other people you mention have anything to do with the arts?
Yolanda Brown is a saxophonist/composer and her music includes Reggae and Jazz.
A good write-up for Jamie Njoku-Goodwin:
https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/humanities/departments/music/study-with-us/our-students/jamie-njoku-goodwin-chief-executive-of-uk-music.aspx#:~:text=Jamie%20is%20Chief%20Executive%20of,MA%20International%20Relations%20in%202013.
And Abigail Pogson too:
https://www.ncl.ac.uk/executive/profile/pogsonabigail.html
They all seem pretty sound, don’t you think?
Ah, I see it’s William Bush who’s harder to trace. Any ideas?
William Bush has been involved with the Premier League. Hmmm. Not much to do with the arts, then. Here’s the press release about them all:
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/yolanda-brown-william-bush-jamie-njoku-goodwin-abigail-pogson-deborah-shaw-and-veronica-wadley-baroness-fleet-have-been-appointed-as-national-co
NOT FOR Publication
Please feel free to delete my Pogson comment and first William Bush comment! I should have done my research before beginning to post!!!
yes these people are all qualified but not neutral. Annabel Pogson is married to John Fulljames opera director who is part of Opera North and Royal Opera Covent Garden coterie which means in order to be credible she will have to recuse herself from any discussion about opera as her support for these organisations over others can not be unchallenged. when Fulljames wants employment he will be privileged over others who are equally as good -as he will have the advantage of a wife in the ACE. Brown is brilliant – this is delightful news but she again has a music producer husband. Jamie has been wonderful – but why is there not a public process of disclosure as with MPs? . i really don’t know why we can’t have real neutral audience representatives on this council. it is a massive disappointment that compromised insiders however good are being appointed again . even regional mayors would be more useful for the levelling up audience centred agenda or national children’s organisation representatives .
Usual non musicians telling musicians how to run orchestras. Like a fox in a hen house – extremely dangerous.