Campaign for the Arts & University of Warwick, have published a vital new report, 'The State of the Arts'. The report launched at The Palace of Westminster, 22 July 2024, is described as a 'health check on the UK’s arts and culture.
Published at the start of a new government, the report brings together timely information. It's filled with data and graphs of official statistics which examine five key metrics:
- Arts funding
- Arts provision
- Arts engagement
- Arts education
- Arts employment
The report serves as a stark warning and a call to action for all of us:
▪️ The UK has the lowest level of spending on culture among European nations.
▪️ For 14 years there has been extensive damage to arts ecosystems.
▪️ In Europe arts and culture are pillars of a functioning healthy nation.
▪️ Since 2010, the share of GCSE entries in arts subjects has declined by 47%. In A level by 29%. With these reductions let’s remember who is left out.
At th launch, guest speakers included Dr Kadiatu Kanneh-Mason and Sir Chris Bryant, Minister of State for the Department of Culture, Media and Sport, who said: ‘The arts are our soft power – they teach us to know what it’s like to walk in other people’s shoes…We need STEM to become STEAM.’
Jack Gamble, director and CEO of Campaign for the arts: ‘The report is a heath check and a wake-up call. The report calls for more balanced arts support, to ensure the vitality and accessibility of the arts for everyone.’
Sophie Leach, deputy general secretary, who represented NSEAD at the launch, said:
'This will be a go-to and comprehensive arts benchmark for years to come. It contains 114 pages of unequivocal evidence – each page examines the data to show the impact of policies that devalue the rich learning that comes from studying the arts. The finding of the report show that a generation of young people have short changed.'
Cover image: Bob and Roberta Smith