OutdoorArtsUK believes that the outdoor arts sector is particularly well placed to support Arts Council England (ACE) in delivering its new Strategic Framework. Our Director, Sho Shibata, explains.
OutdoorArtsUK welcomes the Arts Council’s reiteration of its purpose: to “foster a future in which creativity sits at the heart of society, shaping the lives of its people – whoever they are and wherever they live – for the better”. This is very much in keeping with the outdoor arts sector strategy – Wherever You Are, Whoever You Are, The Arts Are Yours, which was published in February this year.
We look forward to Arts Council England working ever more closely with the outdoor arts sector to deliver on these renewed strategic ambitions.
On “Excellence”
OutdoorArtsUK welcomes Arts Council England’s recognition that artistic excellence is context-dependent and urges that the full spectrum of communities be involved in defining it. To ensure that excellent funded art does not become exclusionary, extra effort must be made to listen to those who are historically underserved by culture. Artists working in outdoor space have a lot to contribute to this debate. As explained in our sector strategy, outdoor arts unfolds in shared public spaces and reaches communities who do not engage with culture regularly. This demands that our artists draw on their awareness of place and its people to create high-quality work, and this is how they succeed in fostering pride, trust and belonging for a wide variety of individuals. For us, artistic excellence and relevance are interdependent: without the former, work becomes shallow; without the latter, it may be impressive but disconnected.
Freelance outdoor artists are the ones who keep our practice alive, and OutdoorArtsUK asks that the Arts Council include them in co-designing its new Service for Individuals.
On “Everybody”
We are pleased to see the stronger emphasis on culture reaching a wider range of people, particularly children and young people. Evidence shows that outdoor arts attracts socially diverse, multi-generational audiences, often engaging people who do not typically participate in cultural activity. This positions the sector as a powerful channel for broadening access and deepening public engagement with the arts.
While we appreciate the Arts Council reiterating their commitment to diversity in governance, workforce and programming, we urge them to also include audience diversity as central to assessing inclusion. The cultural sectors cannot be deemed fully inclusive if its audiences are not diverse.
On “Everywhere”
We welcome the Arts Council’s continued commitment to address uneven distribution of funding, which has left too many places with a limited cultural offer. Outdoor arts is uniquely equipped to address geographic inequalities in cultural provision. Its flexible, mobile nature allows high-quality work to reach places without established cultural infrastructure, including communities that may feel excluded from traditional arts venues. The sector already contributes significantly in Priority Places and Creative People and Places, and key outdoor arts organisations already exist in newly identified Cultural Priority Places.
OutdoorArtsUK would like to work with the Arts Council to address another kind of uneven distribution of resources, including the £1.5 billion Arts Everywhere Fund, and Cultural Tax Relief. These opportunities overwhelmingly favour cultural institutions with buildings and do not directly benefit those who work in public space, which include individual artists and producers.
On Their Work as a Development Agency
Given outdoor arts’ proven contribution to placemaking, social cohesion and inclusive participation, OutdoorArtsUK asks the Arts Council to involve the sector as a key partner for the development of any new frameworks for data and evaluation.
We also ask the Arts Council to involve the sector in any efforts to “collaborate with partners across national and local government, philanthropy, the private sector, education and local communities to unlock new resources”. As outlined in the sector strategy document, the power of outdoor arts lies in our ability to bring joy and belonging to communities, and we are keen to work with the Arts Council to invite national and local partners to our festivals, carnivals and melas so that, together, we can inspire them to understand why investment in arts and culture makes sense.
Image credit: Up in the Sky by Autin Dance Theatre at WOW! Fest, produced by Autin Dance Theatre in partnership with Walsall Council, photo: Paulina Ozynska
