Arts Council England announced July 12, 2005, the publication of its National Carnival Arts Strategy, placing carnival as a major artform in England. The Arts Council, which has a history of funding Caribbean and Latin American carnival disciplines, aims with this new strategy to provide the carnival arts sector with the same awareness of and access to funding as other artforms, says a council press release. It is hoped that the strategy will act as an advocacy tool for the increased recognition of carnival as an artform and also be a major contribution to the Arts Council’s race equality and diversity objectives. The strategy sets out some practical ways for carnival arts to develop between 2005 and 2007 to meet the Arts Council’s Ambitions for the Arts. (Thanks, IFACCA.) [LINK]