I value the arts

Tough decisions are being made about public spending. If you value the arts in your community, you need to make your voice heard. Show the decision-makers that the arts are vital and valued. Pledge your support, visit www.ivaluethearts.org.uk and follow us on twitter.com/ivaluethearts

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MANIFESTO

We believe that great art needs great audiences, and that's why our Manifesto outlines our key messages for funders, policy-makers and the sector in England and the evidence behind those views. You can download our Manifesto here.

I have found the resources excellent when thinking about my marketing plan, allowing me to support my ideas with good evidence and to provide me with a wider context. I have particularly appreciated the way in which the data sources are described and presented so you can see how they can be applied to what you're doing.

Sally Goldsmith, Marketing and Press Manager, Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts

A Change of Name or a step towards extinction?

10th December 2010

Personally I can see a huge amount of potential for many cultural organisations in developing more income from individuals. But across the nation, I'll be amazed if the overall additional amount raised in the next ten years for the sector matches the amount of annual investment we are about to lose from Local Government in the next two.

Ed Vaizey told the National Association of Local Government Arts Officers this week that this Government believed in Localism and Local Authorities should be left to choose who and what they fund. Fair enough, but they do need to be able to make informed decisions. I also remember him saying before the election that there wasn't a need to advocate for culture anymore as everyone knows its value. Recent decisions in Somerset and discussions about cuts up and down the country suggest that isn't the case. There is a desperate need to use more effectively the excellent evidence base we have for the value of cultural investment in delivering broader social outcomes to audiences including Local Authorities and other Government Departments.
At the same time, arts officers in Local Government need to be shouting more loudly and clearly about their impact and value. In many places they are the 'frontline' arts. They are the facilitators, the catalysts, the translators and the brokers. They cost local authorities next to nothing but bring in new funding from many different sources. They are working and supporting the voluntary sector and helping community organisations to survive and flourish. They were doing the ‘Big Society’ decades before the term was invented.
Maybe a name change will help. I hope so, but fear that without far more focused effort the end of the National Association of Local Government Arts Officers could herald the impending end of Local Government Arts Officers. You may not miss them immediately, but in five or ten years time this country will be visibly less creative, less cohesive and less happy.
David Brownlee, Chief Executive, Audiences UK

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