2008: 85 “ “ 2009: 85 “ “ Comparable agreements were completed dur<strong>in</strong>g the first half of 2007 with North East-, North West-, South- <strong>and</strong> the South West-Icel<strong>and</strong>. Earlier, agreements had been signed with municipalities <strong>in</strong> East Icel<strong>and</strong> (2001, has been renewed) <strong>and</strong> West Icel<strong>and</strong> (2005). The M<strong>in</strong>istry’s Newsletter, February 12, publishes an article on grants issued by the <strong>Cultural</strong> Agreement of East Icel<strong>and</strong> total<strong>in</strong>g 30 million ISK. Out of 140 applications received, 100 grants were issued. The largest amount given was 1.000.000 ISK <strong>and</strong> the lowest one 100.000 ISK. While this represents laudable <strong>in</strong>tentions <strong>and</strong> a clear commitment from government to creative developments, there is a lack of research on the impact of arts <strong>and</strong> creative <strong>in</strong>dustry policy <strong>and</strong> a lack of clear, <strong>in</strong>ternationally benchmarked <strong>and</strong> comprehensive data. Other respondents po<strong>in</strong>ted to the value of creative professionals beyond the usual boundaries of the creative <strong>in</strong>dustries: I th<strong>in</strong>k there should be a creative person on the Board of every company. People are afraid of the creative world; creative people are so weird. The fear is also the other way around... I want to create a creative revolution <strong>in</strong> Icel<strong>and</strong>... The amateur arts scene is a key feature of the cultural milieu <strong>in</strong> Icel<strong>and</strong>, as this quote suggests; “The amateur art scene is really exp<strong>and</strong><strong>in</strong>g. It is very active <strong>and</strong> often the driv<strong>in</strong>g force for the arts <strong>in</strong> small towns.” This is particularly the case <strong>in</strong> theatre, with many towns hav<strong>in</strong>g well established local theatre groups. As can be seen <strong>in</strong> the follow<strong>in</strong>g quote, these theatres do not only provide a pathway for young people <strong>in</strong>terested <strong>in</strong> theatre, but also provide performances <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g <strong>and</strong> for young people <strong>and</strong> children: Amateur Theatre is about 100 years old, one or two productions a year, all generations. A theatre group <strong>in</strong> the Junior College does one production a year – they are hav<strong>in</strong>g a play written for them now by a professional writer. There is a strong tradition of act<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> the schools here, one production <strong>in</strong> the pre-primary school <strong>and</strong> also <strong>in</strong> the compulsory school. In 2007/08 there were 6.9 concerts per 1000 population <strong>in</strong> the capital, 3.6 per 1000 people <strong>in</strong> the West, 4.1 <strong>in</strong> the east, 7.1 <strong>in</strong> the north <strong>and</strong> 4.4 <strong>in</strong> the south. While concentrated <strong>in</strong> the capital <strong>and</strong> the north, there appears to be a relatively equitable spread of concert offers around the country. 33 In a general sense, members of a creative <strong>in</strong>dustry focus group were asked to comment on whether they felt that the quality of arts education <strong>in</strong> Icel<strong>and</strong> was better or worse than 10 years ago. The follow<strong>in</strong>g is a summary of their responses to that question: It has stay<strong>in</strong>g the same (stagnant). The curriculum is OK but we need to focus on monitor<strong>in</strong>g of quality. The situation is gett<strong>in</strong>g worse. The quality of teach<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> the arts is gett<strong>in</strong>g worse. Theatre <strong>and</strong> dance are gett<strong>in</strong>g worse. We are very afraid that as the economy tightens, schools will only do what they have to do <strong>and</strong> the cultural life for children will die – they will not visit museums, theatres <strong>and</strong> galleries. Th<strong>in</strong>gs have got better <strong>in</strong> music. The arts scene (especially at the alternative <strong>and</strong> grassroots) is flourish<strong>in</strong>g. I th<strong>in</strong>k the banks might have had too much of an <strong>in</strong>fluence on the art scene so it is actually good that they have pulled out. Passion <strong>and</strong> vitality is there <strong>and</strong> it is gett<strong>in</strong>g even better. There is a lot go<strong>in</strong>g on <strong>and</strong> it is improv<strong>in</strong>g. The crisis has actually been a good th<strong>in</strong>g, especially for festivals. We will start to use what is ours. What is our strength <strong>and</strong> that is a good focus to take us forward. We have attracted a lot of support from abroad. A German baroness is go<strong>in</strong>g to donate to the arts <strong>and</strong> is auction<strong>in</strong>g some of her art work to give to Icel<strong>and</strong>ic art. We hope that all the grass roots th<strong>in</strong>gs will grow up <strong>in</strong> these difficult times. 33 http://www.statice.is/Statistics/Culture/<strong>Arts</strong> 102
From this summary, it can be seen that the majority of respondents felt the situation was better <strong>and</strong> were positive about the future. A smaller m<strong>in</strong>ority were concerned about the future <strong>and</strong> the quality of education <strong>in</strong> the arts <strong>and</strong> culture. 103
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