"Is the uk folk revival rudderless?What direction is it taking?"

I think it takes its direction from the collective activity of individual musicians, folk club organisers, live music promoters, writers, bloggers etc. Even in the 1960s or 70s, if you'd asked Martin Carthy or John Kirkpatrick that question, I think they'd have been hard pressed to give a definitive answer.

"Is the revival being directed by agents and professional performers towards Art centres and away from community based clubs?Or is it heading that way because of lack of available club rooms?"

Performers will play wherever they can and wherever they can find an appreciative audience and a decent fee. Most folk performers play a mix of folk clubs and established live music venues (and the two are not mutually exclusive).
House concerts too of course.

"How do organisers overcome the lack of available pub rooms for venues other than approaching bowls clubs, cricket clubs, british legion clubs"

Finding similar other places: cafes, galleries, bars within cinemas and galleries (Picturehouse Cinemas have thriving live music in their bars) and in summer playing outdoor gigs. The aforementioned house concerts: the house concert scene is under the radar but there are websites you can easily find.

"There has been criticism of MacColl, but at least he tried to help others, gave up his time, organised a club, who of the elder statesmen of the revival are doing that now? who of the younger professionals are doing that now?


Off the top of my head: Jon Boden and his partner Fay Hield run a folk club in Dungworth and the excellent Soundpost events; Paul Sartin (Belshazzars Feast, Bellowhead, Faustus) runs Otley Folk Club; Maddy Prior runs many events/workshops from her home. Look at Lewes Folk Club's Saturday series of workshops for a list of year-round workshops by their visiting professional guests.

Eliza Carthy organised the English Fiddle Symposium.

Archie Moore (or Moore Moss Rutter) taught an excellent all-day fiddle workshop here in London the other week.

The Askew Sisters, Paul Hutchinson and many other well known folk 'names' teach year-round weekly classes at Cecil Sharp House.

Here in London we have quite a lot of folk clubs. They are run by amateur musicians but often amateur musicians who nonetheless record albums and play gigs and festivals etc. Like much of the folk scene, the dividing line between amateur and professional is fuzzy.

All the above is off the top of my head and inevitably London-centric as that's where I've always lived. But if I researched I'm sure I could find more.