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An opposition councillor has accused Croydon Council of “failing the public decency test” after almost £50,000 of public money was invested into a “revolting and sickening” arts festival.

The council spent £10,000 and Arts Council England donated £38,000 of Lottery funding into the Biennial of International Performance Art and Noise, part of which saw performers show off sex toys as well as wee and poo on a stage.

The festival, produced by an organisation called Tempting Failure, ran for 14 days during July.

It took in seven venues including The Spread Eagle Theatre, Matthews Yard, the David Lean Cinema and even the Croydon Council chamber.

Conservative opposition leader Councillor Tim Pollard said he and colleagues were completely unaware the council had invested in such a performance.

He said: “People don’t want the council spending money on something plainly indecent like this when there are more important things to invest the money on.

“It all seems revolting and sickening to me.

“Some people may like this kind of niche art but it chronically fails the public decency test.

“I’m intending to find out who proposed and approved this as I have no idea.

“We weren’t told by the council and didn’t see any promotion for it but I’m not entirely surprised I didn’t get an email.

“It’s not a lot of money but in times of austerity you have a duty to spend money on what people want and need. They neither wanted nor needed this and hardly anyone saw it.”

(Image: www.temptingfailure.com)

The festival's details

Taking place from Monday, July 9 to Sunday, July 22, the festival was advertised by the organisers as “a showcase of over 70 artists representing 20 different countries ... each responding to the provocation of fractured bodies”.

It has been reported that one performance, by Arianna Ferrari, saw the artist taking laxatives and lying down on stage.

She then urinated and defecated in a display supposedly meant to "allow the body to manifest itself".

During the display, she had a microphone attached to her belly so the sound of her bowel movements could be blared out.

Another performance by Joseph Ravens - who once appeared on TV's America's Got Talent - involved multiple sex toys.

Called “demystifying the anus”, the organiser referred to it as “containing a series of modified butt plugs”.

They added: “Each sex toy will embrace a different mood, from poignant to playful. The actions and objects are designed to enrapture rather than repel, in an effort to demystify the anus.”

The Inside Croydon website first reported that £10,000 had been invested by the council while free use of several public-owned venues had also been given.

(Image: www.temptingfailure.com)

Croydon Council has confirmed it spent £10,000 on the festival but declined to disclose its reasons for investing the money.

James Price, of the Taxpayers' Alliance, said: “Croydon Council, like councils across the country, has raised council tax year on year, and now we can see where some of that money is going.

“There is an argument for taxes to subsidise art in some cases, but such obviously ludicrous 'performances' should not receive a single penny from hard-pressed taxpayers working hard just to make ends meet.”

An Arts Council spokesman said: “Challenging performance art might not be to everybody’s taste but our funding is here for everyone, with thousands of people taking part up and down the country every day, from artists transforming derelict pubs into community centres, to activities for veterans and theatre for children in hospital.”