Later this year the Government will announce the outcome of its spending review and tell Arts Council England how much funding we can expect in 2008-2011. It will be a tight spending round, with many pressures on public expenditure. But with the arts at their most vibrant, prolific and popular for a generation, it is crucial that the spending review builds on all that has been achieved in the past 10 years.
The public are enjoying a golden age of arts in England. Substantial increases in Government funding have produced wonderful results across the whole country. Our arts organisations are among the best in the world. The arts are more popular than ever and attendance is at a 10-year high, with 76 % of adults attending or participating in the arts. Along with the more established arts, carnival, street arts, circus, craft exhibitions and live music have all seen greater audiences.
Creative industries in the UK are growing by 6% a year, more than any other sector, and our annual exports in cultural goods amount to £11.6 billion. Britain’s dynamic cultural life helped London to win the race to host the 2012 Olympics and our publicly-funded arts companies will play a major role in delivering the ‘cultural olympiad’ fesitval across the country during the Games.
There is much to celebrate in the arts. But there is also much to lose, if current levels of funding are not maintained and developed. Arts Council England is encouraging everyone who values the arts to make their voices heard in the coming months.
Our aim is to ensure that the decicion-makers, from your local MP to the Chancellor of the Exchequer, understand that the arts are one of the UK’s great success stories and only an inflation-rate increase will keep them that way.
The message is clear: for the public benefit and for this country’s reputation in the world, it makes good sense to keep funding the arts for success.
We encourage everyone who is passionate about the arts, and especially arts organisations and artists who receive Arts Council support, to use the information here to make the case for maintaining arts funding at current levels. How you use the information is up to you, but here are some ideas:
These word documents can be downloaded here:
For more information about the Government’s Spending Review and making the case for funding the arts for success, please contact our Communications team in your region:
National Office
Kelly Wiffen
Head of Public Affairs
Phone: 020 7973 5297
E:kelly.wiffen@artscouncil.org.uk
National Office
Louise Wylie
Director, Media Relations
Phone: 020 7973 5528
E:louise.wylie@artscouncil.org.uk
East
Aileen Muir
Head of Communications
Phone: 01223 454447
E:aileen.muir@artscouncil.org.uk
East Midlands
Fiona Mitchell-Innes
Head of Communications
Phone: 0115 989 7557
E:fiona.mitchell-innes@artscouncil.org.uk
London
Catriona Macrae-Gibson
Head of Communications
Phone: 020 7608 6147
E:catriona.macrae-gibson@artscouncil.org.uk
North East
Susan McKeon
Head of Communications
Phone: 0191 255 8568
Mobile: 07939 636429
E:susan.mckeon@artscouncil.org.uk
North West
Anthony Preston
Head of Communications
Phone: 0161 827 9254
E:anthony.preston@artscouncil.org.uk
South East
Liz Barling
Communications team
Phone: 01273 763043
E:liz.barling@artscouncil.org.uk
South West
Gillian Taylor
Communications team
Phone: 01392 229207
Mobile: 07989 430881
E:gillian.taylor@artscouncil.org.uk
West Midlands
Jo Forrest
Head of Communications
Phone: 0121 631 5757
Mobile: 07989 430881
E:jo.forrest@artscouncil.org.uk
Yorkshire
Tamsin Curror
Communications team
Phone: 01924 486238
Mobile: 07786 256431
E:tamsin.curror@artscouncil.org.uk