Government urged to establish emergency fund for at-risk arts organisations

A permanent fund providing support for at-risk organisations should be established by government to address the “escalating crisis” in the arts sector, a new report has said.

Presented to parliament yesterday (24 April) and backed by the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Visual Arts and Artists, the report aims to highlight the challenges facing the visual arts sector. It proposes four recommendations that could be introduced in the forthcoming Comprehensive Spending Review.

The report, commissioned by the Contemporary Visual Arts Network (CVAN) and the John Hansard Gallery, calls for a new centrally-administered Cultural Investment Partnership Fund, modelled on Canada’s Cultural Investment Fund, with three strands that would offer emergency support, business innovation funding and matched capital investment.

The fund would provide support to non-profit organisations in “sudden economic distress” that have a “strong local impact and public benefit”, as well as a “credible recovery or transition plan to build long-term resilience”.

The second strand of the fund would support the development of arts business models by providing seed funding for experimentation, follow-on support for proven models and backing projects that aim to improve outcomes in health, education, or local economies.

To build long-term resilience in the UK’s visual arts sector, there would be a third strand of matched funding for endowments and capital investment.

“By combining capital investment with endowment building, this fund would strengthen the financial foundations of arts organisations, encourage long-term planning, and attract sustained private and social investment,” the report states.

Supporting creative education and grassroots arts

The report also recommends that government should introduce a £5m fund to support grassroots visual arts by providing direct financial assistance to small galleries and artist-led spaces.

Modelled on the Supporting Grassroots Music Fund, which received £5m in government funding in 2023, the initiative would offer grants for studio space, exhibition costs, and talent development to help young and early-career artists develop and grow their audiences. 

To increase access to the arts for young people, the report also recommends additional investment in creative education and calls for the government to allocate £8.4m annually from 2025–2029 to expand the National Saturday Club network from 122 to 1,000 clubs.

This, the report says, would provide free, high-quality extracurricular creative education to over 54,000 young people aged 13 to 16, with a focus on underserved communities.

The investment would be matched by host organisations – including universities, colleges, and cultural institutions – with further support from trusts, foundations, and businesses, such as those already supporting the scheme, including Arts Council England, Garfield Weston Foundation and the Clore Duffield Foundation.

Finally, the report calls on government to restore funding for specialist creative subjects in higher education, claiming that a 2021 reduction in funding for creative arts, performing arts and media studies by the Office for Students has discouraged provision.

Investment across ‘entire lifecycle’ of the visual arts

Artist Tracey Emin said that the recommendations set out in the report give the government “the tools it needs to provide vital support for artists and the visual arts sector”. 

“We have a wealth of hugely talented artists in the UK, but that talent can’t survive in isolation,” she art’s

“If you give artists the support they need, they will thrive. If you don’t, only the privileged will be able to become artists, and our culture will suffer as a result.” 

Paula Orrell, national director of CVAN, added: “In a time of social, economic, and geopolitical upheaval, policymakers face near-impossible decisions about where to invest. 

“We are calling for targeted public investment across the entire lifecycle of the visual arts – from early arts education and public and grassroots infrastructure to internationally recognised careers.”

“Our report highlights how the visual arts make measurable contributions to some of the UK’s most pressing economic and social challenges and provides a roadmap for targeted investment that can offer value for money in addressing these issues as well as ensuring that the UK’s visual artists and arts can continue to contribute to the UK’s global reputation, social well-being, and economic strength.”