BBC plans big expansion of arts coverage and cultural fare

The BBC will appoint a senior executive next year to lead a big expansion of its arts coverage and build relationships directly with artists and arts institutions.

Lord Hall, BBC director-general, has made arts a priority since taking the reins at the corporation in March 2013, pledging a 20 per cent rise in funding for arts television programmes, more broadcasting of live events, online expansion and more cultural fare on the flagship channels BBC One and BBC Two.

A new arts supremo will be asked to drive plans to bring music, opera, ballet and visual arts to mainstream audiences and make the most of the BBC's arts content.

Lord Hall told the Financial Times that a "task for the new year" would be to identify someone "who I . . . turn to for great ideas, who can help me build relationships with the arts and artists on TV, radio and online, and be a best friend to channel controllers."

A former chief executive of the Royal Opera House, Lord Hall said the BBC had "underplayed its strengths in music and arts". Under his plans, viewers should expect to see high-profile artists appear more often on their screens, as well as UK arts institutions such as Tate, the British Museum, the National Theatre and Manchester International Festival.

An early indication of the new focus came with the decision to ask Grayson Perry - the flamboyant, cross-dressing artist who won the Turner Prize for his ceramics - to deliver the august Reith Lectures on Radio 4. The choice raised eyebrows but was hailed a success by most critics for bringing appreciation of the arts to a wider public.

"We want more mainstream commissions, as Grayson did, with artists talking directly to audiences," Lord Hall said.

Mingling with the audience at one of the live lectures recorded at London's Tate Modern, Lord Hall said he had asked a housewife what she thought of the miniskirted artist's performance. "It's like an ordinary night out in Liverpool," she enthused in response.

Lord Hall has a record for bringing high art to a wider public. At the Royal Opera House, readers of The Sun were offered discounted tickets to new shows and he oversaw a major expansion of the group's live screenings and broadcasts. He added: "I am a real believer that whether you're rich or poor, you should have access to the fantastic arts and cultural scene in this country."

Discussions are now under way with the Royal Shakespeare Company over how to commemorate the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare's death in 2016. With a complete BBC archive of Shakespeare's works already in place, Lord Hall would like to see it combined in new ways with RSC material.

"Imagine what that could do for education in this country," he said. "We can invent things in relation to what we have, and share their archives and ours. We should be using our archives in new places."

The corporation is creating a new arts brand, "BBC Arts at …", which will broadcast live music and theatre events around the country. On digital arts, it has developed an experimental website, The Space, alongside Arts Council England, the funding organisation, that will be relaunched in the spring under a three-year agreement between the bodies. The Space offers digital artists a forum for their work, showcasing emerging artists as well as more established names.

Lord Hall said: "The Space can provide people with a much broader canvas. We can show off the range of arts content we've got, and link this to other content as well."

The BBC faces some pressing challenges in the years ahead. Lord Hall's efforts to focus attention on the quality of the corporation's programmes comes ahead of a debate on the renewal of its charter, which expires at end of 2016. This could see its funding frozen or even reduced.

Having been accused in the past of dumbing down its programmes to attract bigger audiences, the BBC's status as the UK's leading arts broadcaster has come under pressure from Sky, which operates two arts channels and has partnered with the Tate Liverpool and the National Portrait Gallery.

In October, a Sky executive accused the BBC of copying the idea for The Big Picture, one of the upcoming arts programmes championed by Lord Hall, in which 10 amateur artists compete.

Arts leaders nonetheless recognise the allure of the national broadcaster as a means of projecting culture to a mass audience. Sir Nicholas Serota, Tate director, described Lord Hall's appointment as "the most significant event in the arts world this year".

The arts drive will rely heavily on the use of digital technology, which is rapidly becoming more important as a means of delivering BBC content. Lord Hall is all too aware of the trend - particularly among younger audiences - to watch on smartphones or tablet computers.

"There is a video doing the rounds of a toddler touching and hitting a magazine [in the belief that it is an iPad]," he said. "When it does nothing, he throws it over his shoulder. That's haunting me."

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