The chief executive of Arts Council England has called for a “rethink of our urban spaces”, in order to reanimate city centres and steer them away from a “narrative of decline”.
Writing for the latest edition of EG’s UK Cities investor guide, available on 4 June, Darren Henley argues that there will be “one uniting factor among the cities ultimately seen as 21st century success stories: the places that power ahead will have creative people and cultural organisations at their heart”.
He adds: “They will value imagination, nurture invention and be hubs of innovation. Now is the moment for us to rethink our urban spaces.”
Cultural businesses made a pre-pandemic contribution of nearly £3bn a year in taxes, employing almost 340,000 people. Looking beyond purely financial returns, the pandemic has also served to highlight the value of artists, arts companies, museums and libraries to their local communities – as a source of happiness, wellbeing and pride.
Arts Council England has worked closely with the government to deliver the Culture Recovery Fund to provide an essential lifeline to the sector, and ensure cultural infrastructure survives for future audiences. Some £1.8bn has been invested – the biggest single investment in culture in our history.
Henley says cultural venues are increasingly being seen as anchors in city centres.
“As our cultural sector reopens, we can see the wisdom of this massive public investment. Even though the doors of many cultural venues have been shut for much of the past year, the people who create the work inside these buildings have continued to respond brilliantly to the demand for creative and cultural experiences from their audiences, with a huge growth in using technology to deliver content digitally,” Henley says.
“Now, as our theatres, galleries, music venues, libraries and museums begin to welcome people back into their spaces, we have an exciting opportunity to convert new digital audiences into real-life physical visitors, driving footfall into our city centres.”
Read the full article in EG’s UK Cities Guide, available from 4 June.
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