The UK’s arts and culture sector is under growing pressure .
The number of plays and musicals staged has fallen by almost a third over the past decade. GLA figures reveal that six in 10 LGBTQ+ venues have closed since 2006, while local authority arts funding has dropped by 50 per cent since 2010.
Despite four in five visitors saying culture is what they love about London, this value is rarely reflected in voting behaviour, with culture consistently sitting at the bottom of political priorities.
In a recent City A.M. op-ed published on Friday, our client Austin Casey, CEO of Culture Mile BID, argues that this disconnect is exactly why the sector must learn to “speak corporate”. When culture is treated as a standalone industry, it struggles to compete with priorities like housing and healthcare. But, when its economic and social impact, is clearly evidenced through data, culture becomes impossible to ignore. Austin argues “this is why we need to change perceptions of culture as a standalone industry and instead demonstrate how it is central to the success of all sectors of the economy”.
The article builds on conversations from a Culture Mile roundtable held last November, which brought together leaders across the sector to reflect on how arts and culture has evolved over the past 25 years — and what it must do next to secure its future.
Read the full piece in City A.M.
