Mini Series: The Arts and Funding Cuts

Diversifying the arts has become a hot button topic for all the main political parties, yet the question remains, how can the arts grow and diversify if they can barely afford to stay afloat? Seen as inessential by local authorities, it is arts programmes that take the hit when funding gets cut, and thus the governments support and ostensible commitment to diversifying the arts is rendered entirely pointless. When everything from local libraries, to small theatres becomes unsustainable, how do the arts continue to grow? And with the cost of music lessons, and similar artistic tuition, on the rise how do we prevent artistic expression becoming inextricably linked to personal wealth? Over the course of this short blog series, I will look at how the arts benefit mental health, how they help the development of young people, and most importantly how they survive in an age of austerity, and funding cuts.