The cultural sector rebrands itself as a force for economic growth as a new manifesto is launched.
Culture is a national asset which can aid economic recovery, according to a new document launched by cultural leaders in London last week. ‘Cultural Capital – a Manifesto for the Future’ is supported by 17 cultural bodies, including Arts Council England, the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA), the National Campaign for the Arts (NCA), The Art Fund and the Local Government Association. Representatives from all 17 bodies contributed to forming the content of the manifesto, which is intended to focus support for the cultural sector in advance of the General Election. Erica Bolton, of Bolton Quinn, who co-ordinated the production of the document, told AP that “Cultural Capital aims to send a positive message to politicians and opinion formers of all parties, at both local and national level.” Louise de Winter, Director of the NCA, said that it represented “the cultural sector speaking with one voice”. Roy Clare, Chief Executive of the MLA, told AP that the manifesto “challenges the assumption that [the arts and culture] are somehow optional, discretionary services,” and added, “Right now especially, culture and the arts are an opportunity, not a cost.”
Speaking to AP, Jude Kelly, Artistic Director of the Southbank Centre, said, “the last ten years have proved that the creative sector has been able to score on all fronts. It has been able to play a really positive role in thinking around health, social mobility, education and economic growth, but it has retained and strengthened its ability to persuade people that great art excites people.” She added that the manifesto wanted to present investment in the arts “as something which produces growth and profit in all kinds of ways, not just fiscal”. Kelly also revealed that she had been present at “very strong meeting” at Number 10, where arts leaders including Sandy Nairn, Alex Poots and Julia Peyton-Jones were invited to discuss the creative sector with Helen Scott-Lidgett, the Government’s new arts and creative industries policy adviser. The group “reviewed the fact that, after ten years of investment, the arts have got into a very powerful place”.
The most striking element of the manifesto is the emphasis on the contribution which culture can make to the economy. In a section entitled “A New Deal from the Cultural Sector”, it is represented as “ready to play its part in national recovery”. According to research by NESTA, the creative sector generated £57bn in Gross Added Value to the national economy in 2007. (Gross Added Value or GVA is the value generated by an organisation through buying in goods and services.) It is predicted that a 9% annual growth rate could be achieved by 2013, provided that government continues its support. The manifesto claims that this would “boost GVA to £85bn and create 185,000 new jobs”, and points to the way the sector can provide work through schemes such as the Future Jobs Fund. This coincides with the announcement by the DCMS of more than 3,000 new culture and sport jobs as part of the Future Jobs Fund, which it claims has taken it over its own target of 10,000 new jobs. The manifesto also emphasises national and local schemes to offer training “not just for performers and arts technicians, but in design, conservation, heritage and cultural management”, and highlights the sector’s achievements in supporting learning, particularly through Creative Partnerships and Find Your Talent.