After a long period of silence, Arts Council England are announcing the results of their long-awaited investment decisions on arts funding tomorrow!
The Mighty Creatives are waiting in trepidation along with everyone else in the sector. So, in the spirit of hoping for the best but planning for the worst, our period of not-quite-silence on the reflections of our past and re-imaginings of our futures continues unabated.
If this period of not-quite-silence is getting on your nerves, you could do a lot worse than to support our the Mighty (UN)Mute campaign here. One thing I promise: if you can help us reach our target, I’ll never ask you ever again! You will have well and truly shut me up 🙂
Today’s reflection: come expect a miracle
Ambling through the back streets of a market in Port of Spain, Trinidad, you come across a church – modestly rebranding itself as the Jesus Miracle Centre – with the claim that should you wish to visit it, you can ‘come expect a miracle’ no less.
Expecting a miracle is perhaps something we’ve gotten out of the habit in recent years, depending as we do on rational, positivistic ways of thinking that persuade us that without ‘x’ input, then ‘y’ output is impossible: that the imagination and dream land are concepts best left in the hinterlands of the Australian outback and that everything in this world is determinable and forecastable, if only we had enough clean data available at our disposal.
We don’t talk often enough about miracles and we’re certainly not encouraged to expect them – and perhaps we should.
Expecting a daily miracle might just help us deal with the imminent threat of economic meltdown, global warming up and England being beaten by Germany on penalties in the Qatar 2022 World Cup.
Dr Nick Owen MBE PLUS 