Stop Arts Cuts: Ten Facts
The arts rely on decent levels of Government investment to thrive.
Commercial Sales, private philanthropy and tax breaks play their part as icing on the cake but the bed rock of a successful mixed economy of the arts, is decent Government investment. Every time that investment is scaled back the arts shudder and stall! Output is lost and the effects on the creative economy can be dramatic.
Equity’s ‘Stop Arts Cut’ campaign contributed towards the Chancellor’s announcement in his November 2015 Autumn Statement that Westminster funding would be maintained in cash terms until 2020. A positive result! Local, regional and nations arts funding, however, continues to be under threat. Equity’s campaign is now being focused at these levels, with Branches and Committees being encouraged to participate.
Every pound invested in the arts generates two to seven pounds in return, depending on the exact art form supported. On these figures there was never an economic case to cut a single pound from the levels of Government investment.
The arts aren’t just some ethereal , feel good factor for good times as facts demonstrate:
1. The arts = popular:
More people in Britain are engaged in the arts than in Premier League football. 77 per cent of adults have attended or participated in the arts at least once in the last year (Source – DCMS Taking Part Survey)
(‘Life beats you down and crushes the soul and art reminds you that you have one.’ – Stella Adler.)
2. The arts = jobs:
Employment in music, visual and performing arts stands at nearly a quarter of a million people and has grown by 14% between 2011 and 2013 (Source: ONS)
(‘Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere’ – Albert Einstein.)
3. The arts = well being
The Arts on Prescription initiative research study found that engagement with the arts resulted in positive outcomes for 78% of participants, through an increase in mental wellbeing and/or a decrease in social isolation, anxiety or depression: http://artsandminds.org.uk/wp/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/a-on-p_executive-summary_sp-1.pdf
(‘Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life.’ – Pablo Picasso.)
4. The arts = soft power
The UK is recognised as one of the world’s most adept soft-power states. In a recent global ranking of soft power by the Institute for Government, the UK came top. (Source: The Soft Power 30 global index) Cultural engagement leads to a higher level of trust in the UK, and this is associated with a greater attraction to visit or do business in the UK. (Source – British Council 2012)
(‘The Arts...... essential to the prosperity of the State and to the ornament of human life.’ – George Washington.)
5. The arts = ideas
Subsidised theatre fuels risk taking and talent development. The benefits of these in some cases stay within the subsidised sphere, and in others branch out to the commercial theatre sector and wider creative industries (Source CC Skills Publicly-funded arts as an R&D lab for the creative industries?)
(‘Creativity Takes Courage’ – Henri Matisse)
6. The arts = growth
The creative industries are important to our economy – worth £84.1bn or 5% of the UK’s GDP according to the latest figures from DCMS.
(‘...the arts have a crucial impact on our economy and are an important catalyst for learning, discovery and achievement.’ – Paul G Allen, Co-Founder , Microsoft.)
7. The arts = regeneration
Arts and cultural education can lead to higher earning and better job prospects, improved wellbeing and regeneration of places (source - Centre for Economics Business Research (CEBR) 2013)
(‘Even in difficult times – especially in difficult economic times – the arts are essential – Maria Shriver.)
8. The arts = tourism
In 2011, 10 million inbound visits to the UK involved engagement with the arts and culture, representing 32 per cent of all visits to the UK and 42 per cent of all inbound tourism-related expenditure (CEBR 2013). Visit Britain estimate that Britain’s cultural and heritage attractions generate £4.5 billion worth of spending by inbound visitors annually which is the equivalent to more than one quarter of all spending by international visitors.
(It’s still magic even if you know how it’s done.’ - Terry Pratchett)
9. The arts = education
Students from low income families who take part in arts activities at school are three times more likely to get a degree than children from low income families that do not engage in arts activities at school. Engagement in structured arts and culture improves the cognitive abilities of children and young people (Source: CASE 2010)
(‘The stage is not merely the meeting place of all the arts, but is also the return of art to life.’ – Oscar Wilde.)
10. The arts = community
Participation in the arts can contribute to community cohesion, reduce social exclusion and isolation, and/or make communities feel safer and stronger (CASE 2015)
(‘The only thing better than singing, is more singing.’ – Ella Fitzgerald.)
www.equity.org.uk/stop-arts-cuts