Dhupa steps down from British Council

Published Tuesday 29 April 2008 at 15:40 by Lalayn Baluch

British Council director of arts Venu Dhupa, whose proposed shake-up of the organisation’s creative departments was met with protests from UK artists, has quit after less than a year in the post.

Dhupa, formerly chief executive of Nottingham Playhouse and more recently head of arts at the National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts, joined the council in July 2007.

Soon after her appointment, she recommended an overhaul of the council’s cultural units, which included the disbandment of specialist departments such as drama, dance, film and literature. The move followed an earlier internal restructure, when the organisation’s executive board abolished all of its advisory panels, which included writers, musicians, museum directors and curators.

But following protest from the arts sector, the British Council suspended its reorganisation and launched a consultation period - seeking the views of arts organisations, regional development agencies, cultural bodies and practitioners - which it said would inform future international arts policies.

A British Council spokesman explained that Dhupa completed the consultation prior to her departure and the outcomes would be announced in due course.

He told The Stage: “She has made a valuable contribution to the British Council’s thinking around the future of our global arts strategy. The public consultation that Venu led engaged people across the UK in the arts and creative industries community.

“We will work with Venu on specific projects in the future - specifically, in her capacity as a member of the European Cultural Parliament. She will be reporting back to the council when the parliament members meet in Liverpool in October.”

Any changes to the arts strategy will now be overseen by Cathy Stephens, director of innovation on the executive board, until a replacement has been appointed. The spokesman declined to comment on the reasons behind Dhupa’s resignation.

“As the UK’s international cultural relations body, the arts and creativity will remain firmly at the heart of our work in building mutually beneficial relationships between people based on trust, respect and understanding,” he added.

The British Council invests nearly £30 million in the arts annually and supports programmes such as the Edinburgh Showcase, which brings more than 250 international promoters to the UK during the city’s Fringe Festival, generating £1 million worth of worldwide bookings.