The power of art lies in its ability to change our hearts, and open our minds. At its best, it changes the world.
Our country is experiencing a moment of generational political transformation. Change of this kind creates opportunity: to think differently; to imagine in new ways. It’s imperative that we seize this moment to advocate for the value creativity and culture can offer to all of us, and to our country – and for the investment that will allow that value to extend to all citizens, everywhere. Inspired by the new government’s mission-led approach, therefore, I want to propose a set of missions for the future of the arts: five areas in which I believe the cultural sector could collaborate with government to achieve genuine renewal.
These are not new ideas; nor is this the first time we have advocated for them. But at this moment of transition, it is right to make the case for them all again. I believe that, by committing to these five areas, we will be committing to changing our approach to culture and creativity: to recognising their value and validity; investing in them as engines of economic growth and social change; and promoting the exceptional, inspirational work they produce every day. In doing so we will pave the way for a revitalised cultural sector, tuned into its communities’ needs, hopes and dreams, with the power to change our country’s future, and its citizens’ lives.
An Early Years Art Intervention
If we’re serious about strengthening the place of art and culture in this country, we need to begin at the beginning.
As well as enhancing educational outcomes, the arts invest children with lifelong cultural capital. Currently, however, this capital is unevenly distributed – and that unevenness throws up further barriers to opportunity for those already on the back foot. We need to ensure that all children, everywhere, have access to the inspiration and joy that culture and creativity bring: for their benefit, and ultimately – as they grow into happier, healthier, more productive adults – for ours.
Using the learnings from Labour’s Sure Start policy, I want to make the case for the creation of a national “Arts Start” programme: a universal offer for preschool children with art and creativity at its heart, delivered via services (GPs, nurseries, libraries) that families use every day.
The building blocks for this approach are in place. Many excellent organisations and artists work in early years settings and stand ready to expand their creative offer. We have the tools at hand to set this in motion, and are ready to work with government to deliver it.
A creative entitlement for every child and young person
We must return culture and creativity to the heart of education.
Without a rich creative and cultural curriculum, we are failing to support the development of the exceptional artists and audiences of the future; failing to invest children with the creative skills required for a healthy 21st-century economy; and failing to set young people up for the rewarding lives a relationship with culture can bring.
I welcome Labour’s manifesto commitment to review the national curriculum, and trust this will see arts subjects returned to their rightful place, in line with the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, which states that all children should have the right to participate freely in cultural life and the arts. This must in turn lead to the celebration of degrees in the humanities, creative arts, and performing arts, and a true valuing of the essential skills and social benefits they confer.
From here, we should ensure that young people of all backgrounds are aware of opportunities for employment in the arts in the places where they live. Many cultural institutions already offer work experience and apprenticeships; a commitment to expand this offer (as valuable to organisations as it is to individuals) would have profound impact. Equally importantly, we should overhaul the specialist pathways available to young people who have the ambition to become professional performers and artists, so that they can realise that potential, irrespective of background or class.
Revitalised communities, with culture and creativity at their heart
We have the extraordinary fortune to live in a country in which the very best of art and culture is available on our doorsteps. Our cultural fabric extends from world-class institutions to libraries, museums, theatres, music venues and bookshops. On any given day, we can step through their doorways and enter other worlds.
It’s easy to take such access for granted. It is crucial that we do not. The richness of our cultural fabric is the direct result of sustained civic investment by successive generations – but where the cost of living crisis has been compounded by a crisis in local authority funding, that fabric is beginning to fray.
We must protect our cultural infrastructure, and extend it into new housing developments, to support their development into communities. We must advocate for the role culture can play in local renewal, working with local authorities and mayoral combined authorities to ensure that cultural initiatives propel regeneration. We must collaborate with local leaders to harness and drive growth in the creative industries, expanding on the Creative Corridors model which is operating so successfully in the north of England. And we must safeguard our cultural buildings, joining with partners to create sustainable, beautiful spaces in which communities can take pride, and artists can thrive. We must deliver on the vision of those who came before us: of a country in which culture sits at the centre of towns as well as cities, giving them purpose, prosperity, and heart.
Global exchange
Our country’s standing as a cultural powerhouse is one of its greatest assets. A reputation of this kind is hard won but easily lost: to protect it, and the artists who built it, we must sustain and strengthen our country’s artistic excellence, and the routes via which it is shared with the world.
Exceptional works of art can take time to develop – and that development requires stability and security, of income and working environment. Alongside changes to education and routes into creative work, we need to invest directly in artists, and give them the opportunity to learn from and work with their peers, wherever they are in the world.
And we must focus on our touring infrastructure. Regional touring, of performances, artworks, and objects, is essential to our cultural ecology, but cost pressures mean that the current funding model is no longer fit for purpose. We must incentivise domestic touring – and preserve the cycle of refreshment and renewal that it creates. And we must ensure that international touring becomes as seamless as possible once again. We have worked with others in the sector to understand the new barriers around visas, cabotage, and carnet restrictions, and are ready to assist with resolving them. Addressing this issue is crucial to restoring access to international markets – and placing our artists front and centre on the world stage.
A free and fearless sector
Finally, I want to turn to an issue that underpins all the rest.
Freedom of expression is at the heart of any healthy artistic ecology, and every healthy society. But in recent years, artists and curators have increasingly become targets in the culture wars. Their right to public funding – in some cases, their right to make art at all – has come under attack.
We have only to look at countries where censorship is on the rise to witness its chilling effect. The health of our democracy, days after an election, is evident. But censorship is not always centrally directed; it can arise from the fear of vilification. We need, urgently, to banish that fear from the public square; to avoid the slide from criticism of the work, which is healthy, to criticism of the artist, which is not.
So I want to end with three appeals. To government, I would say: remember and reaffirm the value of the arms-length principle, which, by maintaining the political independence of arts funding, protects artistic freedom. To commentators: bear in mind that attacks on one artist risk threatening the safety of all. And to artists: continue to be as brave and challenging and uncompromising as you have always been. Stand by your choices, stand by your art, and know that we will stand by you.
Nicholas Serota is the chair of Arts Council England
