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Critical Network says No! to Cultural Olympiad
We have been receiving a large number of submissions regarding events that form part of the Cultural Olympiad. Please note that we will not list any events that form part of this pointless, hegemonic and excessively drawn-out programme.
As a collective of artists practising throughout the UK we directly oppose the Cultural Olympiad at every level on the basis that it aims to co-opt the work of artists to white-wash the crimes of the 2012 Olympics and manufacture an appearance of acceptability at the expensive of (primarily grassroots) arts activity throughout the UK.
A large proportion (more than £200m) of the ludicrous £10b cost of the 2012 Olympics is being redistributed from the arts sector nationally and is creating a culture in which artists and art organisations are compromising their integrity, desperately trying to incorporate irrelevant Olympic themes in to their work in the hope of receiving financial support.
The Cultural Olympiad is the folly of cultural middle-managers and policy makers, it is art as tourism, it is the Capital City over the rest of the country, it is not going to feature on Criticalnetwork.”
First published: a-n.co.uk September 2009
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