The Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy announced Arts Everywhere Fund on 20th February, and whilst we highly commend DCMS and Arts Council England in managing to strike up this funding at pace, we recognise that the majority of the funds predominantly benefit capital projects for indoor venues, libraries, and museums, and cultural participation of children and young people in visual arts. The impact this funding has on Outdoor Arts is therefore limited.
We at OutdoorArtsUK thank Jen Cleary, Arts Council England Director of Combined Arts for opening the door for feedback from the sector, and we have written to their CEO Darren Henley to put our sector’s response, outlining our wish to have closer working relationship to advocate our value to key policy makers and Government Officials. We also thank sector colleagues who have contributed perspectives in constructing this response.
OutdoorArtsUK know that our sector is full of good case studies and best practice in delivering on Let’s Create and the Government’s Manifesto. Our sector can play a key role in breaking down barriers to arts. Our recent National Conference: Equity in Action demonstrated the sector’s commitment to remain as the beacon of arts access despite the ongoing economic challenges. You can watch a summary wrap of the video here.
Our sector’s superpower: Breaking down barriers to arts access
Most of our sector’s work happens in public spaces for free, in places where culturally disengaged children and families tend to congregate. Outdoor performances can pop up in low engagement areas where there is little or no cultural infrastructure, and audiences do not need to cross a threshold of buildings that they feel are ‘not for the likes of them’. The Audience Agency’s report commissioned by OutdoorArtsUK and their most recent report for Without Walls also confirm our sector’s unique appeal.
Investments into libraries, museums, arts venues, and participatory arts in schools and Saturday Clubs are of course key in making the arts more available, but nothing beats our colleagues bringing exciting artistic work directly to where culturally disengaged people actually congregate. Outdoor artists have specific skills to captivate new audiences in underserved communities, and curating these festivals requires programmers to respond to the interests of these communities. OutdoorArtsUK believe these skills are hugely useful for venue-based colleagues, and something that Let’s Create is encouraging everyone to do more of.
The Creative Industry’s Unrecognised Crisis
OutdoorArtsUK understand that crisis is everywhere across the Creative Industry, but the downturn has had much more acute impact in a small sector like ours. A dozen and more outdoor arts events were cancelled due to lack of resources in the past 12-months, including some key sector events such as Birmingham International Dance Festival and Derby Feste, to regionally significant events such as Leicester Carnival and Bridgewater Quayside. In addition, many established festivals like Stockton International Riverside Festival, Winchester Hat Fair, and Greenwich+Docklands International Festival have had to pare back their programme. These have had a huge impact on the financial viability of artists and companies.
The undoing of our sector will translate to statistical decline of diverse communities accessing high quality arts performances. Arts Council England’s most recent Diversity Report already depicts this concerning trend.
We encourage colleagues in Outdoor Arts and other sectors of the Creative Industry to work together to build new partnerships to really take the Arts Everywhere. Being at the table together to solve shared problems is the most effective way in times of acute challenges.
– Sho Shibata, OAUK Director
