The Arts Council England is wrong to think you can take the politics out of art

EARLIER this month, during the climax of Chicago rapper Noname's headline gig in London, she paused, cut the accompaniment, and addressed her sold-out audience. "Can I hear you say free Palestine?"

- Emma Loffhagen

It was, of course, not the first time I'd been at a concert where the artist had made some kind of political statement. At Stormzy's packed out All Points East show last year, he implored the crowd to "f*** the Government and f*** Boris". I've watched Little Simz rap about apartheid, and Beyoncé sing about race relations.

E But it was Noname I thought of when a row about Arts Council England broke out last week. It all started when the magazine Arts Professional reported on a hitherto largely unnoticed update that the Arts Council had made to its policies at the end of January. Buried a few lines into its relationship policy was the warning that political statements made by individuals associated with Arts Councilfunded projects - even if in a personal capacity could cause reputational risk. That in turn, the Arts Council said, could affect funding.