How devolution could revitalise the future of UK arts

Last week’s announcement from the Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy of the £270m Arts Everywhere Fund to support arts venues, museums, libraries and heritage buildings was extremely welcome news to arts leaders, who’ve been battling with rising performance, supplier, energy and workforce costs at the same time as managing shrinking public investment.

While this offers a starting point for what’s needed, government pronouncements about the importance of cultural organisations – from providing opportunity for experiences and skills to boosting a sense of community and being a major driver of economic growth – are what we’ve all been shouting from the rooftops for years.

Since the creative industries were identified as one of the eight growth-driving sectors in the government’s Industrial Strategy, this was the first major investment announcement and recognition – not just of the value of arts and culture but of the desperate need of financial support to keep arts organisations running, carry out vital overdue infrastructure work on beloved venues and improve financial resilience.

But to ensure we can realise our full potential in future and get the levels of investment the sector needs, two key government initiatives happening now present a truly once-in-a-generation opportunity.

A missed opportunity

Baroness Margaret Hodge’s review of Arts Council England (ACE) offers a timely opportunity to rethink how cultural organisations are supported. The review is set to explore how ACE can improve access to arts and culture in every region.

It’s taking place at the same time that a round of regional devolution deals are being negotiated, with new mayors, strategic authorities and devolved investment all on the table for places such as Hampshire, Sussex, Essex, Norfolk and Suffolk.

As it stands, arts and culture will not be within the competence of the new strategic authorities being proposed. But this is a missed opportunity: I think the ACE review should examine the role devolution could play in the future of arts and culture.

If these new strategic authorities were to be given greater influence over cultural funding and decision-making, they could better align investment with local priorities, ensuring communities up and down the country are able to experience and benefit from access to high quality arts and culture.

Mounting challenges

As chief executive of Anvil Arts, an arts charity responsible for three venues in Basingstoke, I know first-hand the contribution and impact we make. More than just performance spaces, we contribute significantly to the local economy, and our outreach and engagement programmes bring communities together and create opportunity and aspiration, including in some of the most disadvantaged local areas.

Last year, our programme brought 200,000 people into the town centre – two-thirds of whom said they wouldn’t have visited otherwise. However, the crippling financial landscape we are operating in means we are being forced to make impossible changes that will fundamentally change our future role and offer. Across the country, the other 40 or so civic-led regional concert venues like ours face similar mounting challenges.

Unlike commercial entertainment venues, we are all driven by public benefit, not only profit. We bring world-class artists, orchestras, and ensembles to towns and cities across the UK, ensuring cultural access for millions of people every year.

And we do so while also delivering extensive community engagement – from music education in schools to therapeutic sessions in care homes, to relaxed performances for people with autism and disabilities. Many of us operate venues now thirty years old or more, and in need of significant renewal and updating.

Regionally-led investment model

Last year, a report released by the British Association of Concert Halls (BACH), revealed that collectively we contributed more than £328 million to the economy, welcoming over six million people to more than 9,000 concerts and events. For every £1 of public investment – a total of just £43 million – we generated £4.48 in ticket income.

Our venues helped to stimulate local economies, bringing people into town centres who then spent money on food, drinks, and accommodation, supporting jobs and businesses. A well-funded regional approach to cultural investment could amplify this impact across the country.

This is a crossroads moment. If we want the UK’s cultural industries to continue offering world-class music and arts, enriching cultural outreach, driving local economies, and bringing communities together, beyond this much needed Arts Everywhere Fund, we require a new approach that delivers sustained support.

As the ACE review considers the future of arts and culture funding, it should be a no-brainer to consider how best to leverage devolution to strengthen our cultural ecosystem. A regionally-led investment model would not only enhance the artistic excellence in every area, but also ensure communities aren’t left behind when it comes to cultural access and opportunity.