With an attitude so trifling towards our creative industries, a dark shadow has been cast over the future of our art students and graduates. Ten years of Tory government has already decimated public arts and culture funding, however the office of a PM with such a personal disregard for the importance of the creative professions to our society could have dire consequences for an industry responsible for expressing our national identity.
As Chancellor of the Exchequer, Sunak first faced backlash on his infamous lockdown comments, where he appeared to suggest that musicians and artists should retrain for other jobs as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. He further exposed his lack of appreciation for the artists of our country, by more recently vowing to scrap ‘low value’ arts degrees during his leadership campaign against Liz Truss. These degrees are the foundation of the livelihoods of so many. Luckily, art has a value that goes beyond the realms of capitalism. The value of UK produced art, theatre and entertainment isn’t measured by ‘earning potential’ – it’s much more important to our national identity. After all, not everything is about money.
As a school leaver, I very much felt the societal pressure understood by many, to pick a degree I would ‘actually get a job out of.’ Encouraged by school teachers and parents alike to follow a STEM-based career path with high employment rates, choosing a degree based on enthusiasm alone often felt of middling importance. Along with many other arts students at Sheffield, who faced the UCAS application form and chose a subject they feel genuinely impassioned by, I am unregretfully enjoying my Bachelor of Arts (regardless of a certain politician’s disapproval).
Our world-leading creative industry has proven to be a vital part of the UK economy. Millions of tourists every year flock to the UK to experience our art, yet, sadly, no one is coming to appreciate the London Stock Exchange or the city’s financial quarter. The arts and culture industry provides 7% of all UK jobs, and brings £10.8 billion a year to the UK economy. Despite the art and culture sector bringing in £850 million to the country through tourism each year, the importance of this industry to individual people goes beyond the weight of pounds. Making and experiencing arts and culture transforms quality of life on an individual basis.
Arts Council England is a charity that provides the backbone of arts and culture funding to the public. Alongside funding theatres and galleries, the charity provides funding to arts organisations that empower communities by working alongside people to express themselves by creating art, theatre and music, writing and learning together. These arts provide hope to people, by bringing them together and helping people to understand each other. If art can help anyone to feel more involved in the community they live in, that is invaluable.
One in five people visit a GP for reasons that aren’t fundamentally medical – including loneliness, debt or housing. Through an ACE funded plan called social prescribing, people can be connected to practical and emotional community support. This can include activities such as volunteering, arts activities and group learning. Perhaps most importantly art teaches us that lives other than our own have value, by tackling social injustice and inspiring solidarity. The museums, theatres and galleries of our towns and cities make life worth living.
Hence it is alarming that public funding for the arts per capita has dropped by 35% since 2008, according to the Arts Index, a survey that provides a report of the health of our national arts and culture. Additionally the proportion of all GCSEs being taken in creative subjects is down 20% since 2010. Not only has Sunak constructed a narrative against arts and culture that will in the long run only further dissuade young people from venturing into creative degree areas, but it will also deprive the public of invaluable services that enrich lives. The position of a man who has the top job in government commands the respect and influence of many in the general public. If Sunak actively promotes rhetoric disrespecting arts-based education, this risks the reputation of a whole industry of writers, performers, and countless other creatives who enrich the lives of others everyday.
Students should not be swayed from picking a degree subject they enjoy because the opinion of one man is reforming how this country values education.
