Editor's Letter - Culture in a Credit Crunch

I’ve been thinking a lot about money of late. The relentless tales of roller coaster prices, with the wrong things rising ( fuel and food ) and the worst falling ( house prices ) it’s hard not to feel nauseous at all. Stop the ride, I want to get off.

And now that the City is experiencing a bloodbath ( Lehman Brothers bankrupt, Merrill Lynch bailed out, AIG in turmoil )  we can all rest assured that “I’m worth it”  retail therapy is a thing of the past. Unless it’s a trip down the aisles of Aldi, of course.
But where does this leave the arts? Actually, in a pretty good place.
Damien Hirst, for one, is laughing all the way to the bank having just made an eye-watering £111 million from his two –day sale at Sotheby’s.
As traditional stocks and shares go into freefall, art, in these uncertain times, is seen as a safer investment than a pension plan.
But thankfully it’s not all about art as a commodity and we don’t have to splash out millions to appreciate culture.
Because, far from being an unnecessary and expensive luxury, ideas  and appreciation cost nowt. OK, if the bank is on a crusade to bombard you with a mountain of ‘letters with windows’ discussing Francis Bacon tryptics won’t call them off ( wouldn’t it be good if it did?)
But in a credit crunch, we still have to get our fix of ‘me stuff’ from somewhere, and where showing off vanity purchases can’t cut it then culture definitely can.
Open has always made a real point of flagging up exhibitions, gigs and the like that are either free or inexpensive. And , of course, it costs nothing to read.
The ICA now has free entry. You can enjoy exhibitions and short films, browse the bookshop and actually stop and think -  all for the price of your cup of tea in the lovely café.
And the new School of Life is a  perfect example of how intelligence is making a comeback. A new cultural enterprise with the likes of Alain de Botton  and Tom Hodgkinson on board, this thinking hub offers courses, conversation meals, holidays and lectures on how to lead a fulfilled, bright life. But with plenty of humour and irreverence thrown in.
Because even if we’re forced to tighten our belts maybe we can open our minds.

Loma
xxx

PS : Open will be unveiling a new look very soon...