more to the point - how are Arts Council meeting those aims? they are promoted as areas of development but Arts Council seems to have become more a pot of money and less an agent of development. Arts Council have a very solid idea of where the arts should go in the country and how that should be achieved. This is not always compatible with current artistic practice or alternative models of development. their one-size-fits-all models naturally don't always fit. I don't think it's necessarily up to us as artists to carry out the work of Arts Council England. Surely, an artist's perspective on this should be "how does Arts Council's aims fit with my work?". The simple answer to your question would be only to apply to arts council if you want to do their work.