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Arts

My Lords, I too am very grateful to the noble Lord, Lord Bragg, for giving us the opportunity to put before the House some of the issues that face the arts today and the impact of the arts in this country. Some of the contributions that have already been made make me want to rethink and revise what I wanted to say, which to me is the hallmark of a really good debate. First, I will declare my interests. I work with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, the Heritage Lottery Fund and the Arts Council of England as an adviser and consultant, as well as with the Museum of London and various other heritage organisations. I am also chair of the Nitro Theatre Company and am on the board of the South Bank Centre. As the noble Baroness, Lady McIntosh of Hudnall, mentioned earlier, I was part of the peer review team for the Arts Council of England, which was so ably chaired by her. We have become accustomed, as many noble Lords have said, to thinking about the extent to which the arts and creative industries contribute to the economy in terms of, for example, exports and employment. I will not go into great detail on that—others have already spoken on it—but it is important to note that the significant numbers of lottery-funded landmark arts buildings built have transformed, literally, and reinvigorated the architectural landscape of this country. Much of that has led to formerly rundown areas being transformed, increasing communities’ self-confidence and sense of local pride. The south bank in London, Newcastle and Gateshead and Walsall are just a few examples. If we look at the economic impact of major arts events, we can see that there are some results to be drawn from and learnt from. Figures are generally very impressive. For example, the Notting Hill carnival—one of the largest street festivals in Europe—has achieved a spend of more than £45 million by attendees over the three days, with 90,000 attendees from overseas and 300,000 people attending from parts of Britain outside London. The overall income was estimated at £93 million, set against costs of approximately £6 million to £10 million, and the carnival supports up to the equivalent of 3,000 full-time jobs a year. Of course it is not only London where arts festivals have a huge impact and create a buzz. Cumbria has an extensive number of arts festivals carrying on throughout the year where professional theatre, gallery spaces, outdoor spaces, church halls and community centres are all involved. Again, they encourage significant attendances from inside and outside the region. As well as recognising the economic benefits of developing the creative and cultural industries, many of us feel very passionately about the positive difference the arts can make to people’s lives and the environments in which they live. Although I agree with much of what the noble Baroness, Lady McIntosh, said, we must also remember that it is difficult to talk of the public as a homogenous entity—there are differences and fragmentations. Also, when we talk about the instrumentality in relation to the arts, we should not throw out the baby with the bathwater. I want to draw attention to some of the benefits that have been gained for people from a number of projects with which I am familiar. Recently, I did some work on homelessness and the arts, and was struck by the number of people who are not only homeless but artists. They welcomed the opportunity to be thought of as artists first and homeless second. That was one of the few sources of pride and self-esteem that they could refer to. For people who are marginalised and who have suffered major disruptions in their lives, opportunities to participate are welcome, even as a member of an audience at an opera or at the theatre, or, more particularly, actively in organisations such as the Streetwise company or Cardboard Citizens as an opera singer, actor, scene-painter or prop-maker, giving enjoyment to hundreds of people. All those kinds of experience help people to rebuild their lives, to think of themselves as human beings first and homeless people or mentally ill second. It is particularly important for people who are seen as being on the absolute margins of society. I agree that we have to learn to develop new languages for thinking and talking about how we address the arts and the benefits that come from the arts. We need to recognise different perspectives, perceptions, experiences and ways of expressing them, rather than thinking of the arts as a monolithic set of experiences. Some people have expressed opposition to the focus on access, diversity and participation, but there are projects such as those that I have mentioned. The ““On Spital Fields”” project, the community cantata, recently won a prestigious Royal Philharmonic Society award in the education category. Everyone from nine to 90 in the Spitalfields area was involved in devising the project. In Bradford, the Connect project—a joint initiative by Alchemy and Cartright Hall—brings in new audiences and develops participatory ways to engage with the arts. All those different projects are focused on access, diversity and participation, but also excellence. It is great to see them all so happily combined. I reiterate a comment made earlier about the Olympics. It is important to reassure the arts sector that provision for the arts will not suffer and that the cultural aspects of the Olympics will be addressed and funded strategically. A particular concern is that some of the progress made to address the historic underfunding of black and minority ethnic artists and arts organisations will be eroded by a diversion of funding to the Olympics, in a way in which some of us will not be able to participate. I very much hope that we can deliver the spectacle, fun and enlightenment that the visit of the elephant to our great city had over the weekend. It is important to stress, as the noble Baroness, Lady McIntosh, said, that the amount of collaboration needed to do that was extraordinary—not only to stop all the traffic but to dig up roads, put art installations around the centre of the city, and so on. It was extraordinarily effective and incredibly popular. I finish by saying that I hope that the Government will continue vigorously to pursue the commitment to funding, supporting and developing further our rich mix of creative resources, ensuring that diversity and risk-taking are at the centre of policy-making.