

Download Project Report

The UK Government’s £1.57 billion aid package for culture, arts and heritage institutions was extraordinary and hugely welcome news.
To give a sense of scale, it is roughly twice the annual budget of Arts Council England. Or only 1.4% of the £111.7 billion annual GVA of the UK’s creative Industries. It is a clearly lot of money; but for a sector that is now so large, also not so much.
The question now, though, is how is it going to be spent?
The Government, rightly, didn’t wait until all the details were sorted before announcing the funding. The cultural sector needed to know help was on the way. But that means, so far, details are scant.
So what should it be spent on?
At the front of everyone’s minds is saving what we have got. The funding is a response to the very real risk that existing cultural organisations won’t make it through the present crisis. Clearly, that has to be a major and immediate priority. The things we value must be saved.
But looking to the longer term, a time of crisis is also an opportunity for renewal. Here are our priorities for shaping a New Deal for the post-COVID cultural future:
Redefining community engagement. One positive of the COVID-19 crisis has been a refocussing on communities. We have been more connected to the place we live; in touch with family and friends; connecting virtually with communities of interest. And, running alongside the pandemic, Black Lives Matter has brought a global call for justice for communities suffering discrimination. Now is a decisive moment for cultural institutions to shift the dial on their engagement with the communities they serve.
Reconfiguring the cultural ecosystem. It is striking that the £1.57 billion is for “institutions” when so much of the cultural sector is micro-businesses and individuals. COVID-19 has revealed the vulnerability of cultural supply chains. Many cultural workers are reliant on a few big institutions and vulnerable to even short term down-turns. That insecurity had already excluded talented people from less well-off backgrounds. During the pandemic, it has threatened the whole system. The resilience of the supply chain requires more financial security for artists, freelancers and micro-businesses. That benefits not just individuals but the whole cultural ecosystem, including the big cultural institutions and funders like the Arts Councils.
Accelerating digital. With no physical audiences, cultural institutions moved quickly to increase and improve their digital offers. The pandemic has driven real innovation. But, when compared to the music, games or television industries, venue based organisations still have much more scope to ramp up digital engagement. The crisis has supercharged what was already the biggest trend in consumer behaviour and cultural organisations need to keep pushing their digital boundaries.
Prioritising climate action. COVID-19 took the planes out of the sky, let us hear the birds and breathe clean air. The environmental emergency never felt so real. Climate action is the planet’s top priority and it needs to be culture’s priority too. Buildings and infrastructure need to be sustainable; globe-trotting cultural programming must watch its carbon footprint; artists and cultural leaders should be evangelists for the health of the environment.
Smart, targeted investment in each of these areas - a New Deal - could be transformative for the UK’s cultural and creative sectors.
COVID-19: Government support packages for culture and creative industries #2
The UK’s £1.57 billion recovery package: priorities for a New Deal
Jul 30, 2020
ABOUT US
EXPERTISE
A global research and consulting practice for culture and the creative economy
Nov 4, 2021
How are major cities around the world responding to climate change through cultural policies and programmes?
The Green World Cities of Tomorrow: Culture and Sustainability
Paul Owens
Apr 22, 2021
5 Priorities for World Cities in the post-covid recovery period
Culture and the Climate Emergency
Paul Owens
Dec 4, 2020
Culture can play an important role in recovery and renewal across the UK, if the right local decision-making is put in place
Culture and the Recovery: Levelling Up Culture?
Callum Lee
Sep 23, 2020
This focused, coordinated set of measures can not only rescue the sector, but position it to lead the recovery
Central London’s celebrated cultural offer is in peril
Jonathan Todd
Aug 21, 2020
Three big questions as applications close for Arts Council England’s Cultural Recovery Fund
COVID-19: Government support packages for culture and creative industries #3
Paul Owens
Jul 30, 2020
The UK’s £1.57 billion recovery package: priorities for a New Deal
COVID-19: Government support packages for culture and creative industries #2
Paul Owens
Jul 20, 2020
Cities are using their unique capabilities to lead recovery and renewal
COVID-19: Cities, Culture and the 3 ‘P’s: powers, partnerships, place
Paul Owens
Jul 7, 2020
Investing in recovery, planning for transformation
COVID-19: Government support packages for culture and creative industries #1
Paul Owens
Jun 30, 2020
Recovery and renewal will depend on how we address the three dimensions of the crisis
COVID-19 is a triple blow to culture and the creative industries
Paul Owens
Jun 3, 2020
In the face of radical uncertainty leaders and policy-makers will have to take planning and collaboration to whole a new level
‘Plans are useless, planning is essential’
Paul Owens
May 13, 2020
Nobody knows what will happen next, but we have a good idea of the three necessary steps out of the crisis
Relief, Recovery and Renewal: navigating our way to a new kind of future
Paul Owens
Dec 20, 2019
A cause for optimism
Weaving the Golden Thread into the 2020s
Paul Owens
Related Articles
By BOP Consulting
Paul Owens
Co-Founder and Director
Paul is a leading international advisor and practitioner in cultural policy and creative economy. He is Co-Founder of BOP, and alongside his fellow directors he has pioneered now well-established methods to measure the impact of cultural policy.
Planning a new project?
If you are interested to learn more about our work or if you have a project you would like to discuss, get in touch.