The Stage

Restructured ACE fills two senior posts

Published Tuesday 5 December 2006 at 16:30 by Nuala Calvi

Two senior appointments have been announced as part of the restructuring of Arts Council England’s national office.

Executive director of the Institute of International Visual Arts, Gus Casely-Hayford, will head the new Arts Strategy department, while Althea Efunshile, currently director of the Vulnerable Children Group at the Department for Education and Skills, will take the role of executive director within Arts Planning and Investment.

ACE said the appointment of Efunshile, who has been with the DfES since 2001, reflected its aim of maximising the impact of the arts on agendas such as diversity, communities and children and young people.

However, the choices have led to concern within the industry over the lack of performing arts sector expertise at the highest levels of the organisation. The restructure has led already to 33 job cuts and the loss of several high-ranking members of staff in recent months.

Former Theatrical Management Association president AK Bennett-Hunter said: “It would be a pity if these appointments signalled the arts council were taking a more managerial role and placing the emphasis of the arts on social engineering.

“It is now especially important that the new directors for the various performing arts disciplines have the confidence of the sector.”

Directors are yet to be found for dance, theatre, visual arts, literature, learning and skills and participation, after long-standing department heads such as Nicola Thorold and Elizabeth Adlington declined to apply for the newly created posts.

Independent Theatre Council chief executive Charlotte Jones said she hoped the new team would be more willing to engage with the industry than its predecessor.

“One of the biggest failures in the past has been not listening to the expertise that’s already available,” she said. “I’m very open to engaging with the new team and I hope they’ll be up for drawing on the expertise of the sector.”