Leading figures from arts organisations in the capital have joined London’s Mayor Boris Johnson in warning against cuts in arts and culture spending. At an event entitled ‘Cultural Capital: Maintaining Investment in Culture through the Good Times and the Bad’, hosted jointly with Arts & Business (A&B) at the Victoria and Albert Museum, Johnson issued a warning about the effect that the recession was having on funding, and added “arts and culture are not a luxury, they are part of this city’s DNA, its USP”. He has written to borough leaders urging them to maintain arts funding, emphasising their “vital role as significant funders”. London Councils Chairman, Councillor Merrick Cockell, who also attended the event, said that “the contribution of culture to the social fabric of the capital is invaluable – and that’s even before we talk of the financial contribution it makes by attracting tourists”. Colin Tweedy, Chief Executive of A&B, revealed new figures showing that 70% of London arts organisations had seen a drop in business investment, and that cultural organisations expect the negative effect to continue until 2011. However, earned income has risen and attendance levels are holding up. Tweedy predicted that legacies, matched funding schemes and board giving would become more significant streams of private funding in future.
