About us

Our agenda for the arts

Our ambition

Arts Council England’s ambition for 2006–8 is to put the arts at the heart of national life and people at the heart of the arts.

Our aim is for everyone in the country to have the opportunity to develop a rich and varied artistic and creative life. We will ensure that more high quality work reaches a wider range of people – engaging them as both audience and participants. We will support artists and arts organisations to take creative risks and follow new opportunities.

By 2008 we hope to see:

  • a more confident, diverse and innovative arts sector which is valued by and in tune with the communities it serves
  • more active participation in the arts by adults and young people across the country

To achieve this, we will have to strengthen our own performance and support our main partners, arts organisations and local authorities, to improve theirs.

Arts policies and the visual arts review

We have policies for each artform, which outline how we support artists and arts organisations and develop audiences and participants. Periodically we review policy for specific parts of the arts sector.

In the period to 2008, we will focus on the contemporary visual arts. We will publish a 10-year strategy to ensure that the sector can capitalise on its success and the expansion in artistic practice in recent years.