Why were British artists so upset at the arts funding freeze announced last week? Because for the past few years, for the first time in a long time, arts funding had become significant. “Across the country, thousands of artists and thousands of projects have been properly funded for the first time in living memory. For the first time in our professional lives there has been money for experiment, money for growth, money for creative investment. A revolution occurred in Sheffield, where Michael Grandage turned the new money into world-class theatre. At Tate Modern and the National Theatre, visionary leadership has been rewarded with substantial investment and the results are palpable success. Give the RSC a couple of years and it will join them. There is no doubt that this investment was creating a cultural golden age in Britain.”