Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy has announced a £1.5bn funding package for the arts, calling on national museums based in London to ensure they reach audiences across the whole of the UK. The package includes £600m for national institutions such as the British Museum and the National Portrait Gallery, but Nandy stressed that these must work harder to be genuinely national institutions.
Speaking on Wednesday, Nandy praised the Royal Shakespeare Company’s outreach work as an example. “I’m saying to institutions: ‘We are building the doors, but now you need to throw them wide open to the whole community,’” she said. The funding is the biggest reset in the arts for a generation, aimed at repairing the UK’s cultural infrastructure.
As part of the package, £160m will go to local and regional museums, a £425m Creative Foundations Fund will support about 300 capital projects, and the heritage sector receives £230m. Public libraries can apply for £27.5m, and national portfolio organisations get an extra £80m. Nandy described the investment as restoring national pride and ensuring arts belong to everyone.
However, the Prospect union criticised the focus on buildings rather than staff. General Secretary Mike Clancy said the sector faces a “crisis in pay and retention”. Meanwhile, Nandy backed a recent review by Margaret Hodge which found a “loss of respect and trust” for Arts Council England, and hinted at changes when she formally responds within the next month.
