Sunday

BBC's £4 Million Art

THE BBC came under fire last night after it emerged broadcasting chiefs have commissioned more than 40 pieces of art that will cost licence fee payers more than £4m. Well-known artists including Rachel Whiteread and Tracey Emin are among those who have been asked to produce art for the corporation under a programme of purchasing public art linked to the redevelopment of Broadcasting House in London. The collection includes pavement poetry, a 3,000ft tower of light shone into London's night sky through an inverted steel and glass cone and a small bird sitting on top of a 13ft bronze perch in Liverpool. But critics have attacked the BBC for lavishing public money on non-programming activities at a time of massive cost-cutting in the organisation. BBC director general Mark Thompson is currently in the middle of slashing £400m of costs from the broadcaster's budget and axing 3,000 jobs amid calls to raise the licence fee to £180 a year. For the full story - click the title Irish Art