The chairman of Arts Council England has praised Bristol City Council for its commitment to invest in the arts while other councils have cut funding completely.
In a letter to the Times, Sir Peter Bazalgette countered another letter opining that the economic impact of the arts is “beside the point”.
Bazalgette wrote: “The argument now is not whether we should fund the arts, but, ahead of the forthcoming spending review, by how much it might be cut. This is when it is right to consider all the benefits of arts investment.
“Ask Bristol, Nottingham, Liverpool, Manchester, Birmingham or Gateshead. They know that this public investment stimulates tourism, attracts businesses and students as well as providing the talent for the creative economy.
“On a national scale it is worth noting that while funding of arts and culture is only 0.05 per cent of government spending, or 14p per week per head of population in England, the economic contribution of the music, visual and arts sectors alone exceeds £4 billion a year. Quality of life and firing our imaginations come first, but please don’t forget the other benefits.”
The following organisations in Bristol are recipients of Arts Council England funding:
- Architecture Centre
- Arnolfini
- Asian Arts Agency
- Bristol Cultural Development Partnership
- Inbetween Time
- Knowle West Media Centre
- Poetry Can
- Sound UK
- Spike Island
- ss Great Britain
- St Paul’s Carnival
- Theatre Bristol
- Tobacco Factory
- Travelling Light Theatre Company
- Watershed
