Arts debate

Summary & conclusions

The arts debate ran from October 2006 to September 2007. Findings from all stages of the research as well as those gathered through the open consultation have been incorporated into an overall summary entitled Public value and the arts in England: Discussion and conclusions of the arts debate.

Discussion and conclusions: Full report, 30 pages

[doc 307Kb] [pdf 405Kb]

Key findings from the debate

The summary report provides an account of how people think and feel about the arts in England and their priorities for public funding. It explains how the debate has provided a new framework for understanding the public value of the arts:

The arts are seen as part of our fundamental capacity for life - enabling us to interpret, adapt and understand the world around us, helping us to express ourselves, communicate with others and broaden our collective horizons
The arts enrich our experience of life - they bring colour, passion, beauty and intensity to our lives. They are a source of pleasure, entertainment and relaxation and a means of escape from the day to day
The arts offer powerful applications in other contexts - contributing to health and well being, to education and learning, a sense of belonging and community and so to social cohesion and a healthy economy

The report identifies important areas of consensus as well as points of difference. There is widespread support for the principle of public funding for the arts but only if it seeks to achieve certain key outcomes. People would like the Arts Council to:

support ground-breaking work that touches the lives of more people in exciting, surprising ways
be bold, visionary, transparent, fair and properly accountable
continue to foster public debate about the role the arts play in our lives

Detailed results from every stage of the inquiry are available on the research & consultation page.

Next steps

The Arts Council looks forward to responding to the opportunities and challenges presented by the arts debate. Over the coming months we will be sharing and debating the findings widely and developing a detailed response, combining:

short-term actions in our next corporate plan
a long-term policy response to be published in spring 2008

The Arts Council is committed to ensuring that the conversation continues. We shall be working hard to maintain this important dialogue about the value of the arts, the role of public funding and our own priorities and principles in the future.

Arts debate

Summary & conclusions

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