The Arts Are Vital To Us. Here's Why . . .

 by Daisy Watson-Rumbold

When ITV News tweeted that Rishi Sunak had suggested that ‘musicians and others in arts should retrain’, the world of social media caught on just as swiftly as it usually does. Except, unlike usual, there was less cancel culture, more harsh words and expletives, and a deep feeling of hurt. A whole industry, a community, of people, were aching at the government to pay a little more respect to the arts.  

ITV subsequently deleted the statement and wrote it off as misleading, but is it really that questionable to hold the government accountable for their lack of compassion towards the arts.

I’ve always considered myself to be someone who appreciates everything the ‘arts’ encompasses. However, it wasn’t until lockdown, or even until the fear settled in that the arts were in danger, that I realised how vital the creative sector is to my life. Music offers an escape that most people struggle to find elsewhere. Drama allows people to impersonate another reality, or observe people unravelling stories right in front of their eyes. Art creates visual stills of our world, our society and our minds, that hang on display to us whenever we need. I see no reason as to why the arts need to suffer when they have been at the centre of our society for centuries.

Funnily enough, the arts is one sector that the UK excels at. Bringing in £10.8 billion a year, and serving as one of the largest tourist attractions, the arts industry does rest at the core of our economy and our communities. Albert Hall’s audiences fell silent over lockdown, there was no standing ovation, and Abbey Road Studios shut their doors for the first time since opening in 1931. Glastonbury became an exploration archive of previous acts, while Reading and Boardmasters landscapes stayed barren under the 2020 regime. The arts saw what could very easily be classed as a physical standstill. The idea of dancing in a field with thousands of people you’d never met transitioned from exhilarating to deadly, and so the slow death of the arts industry started.

However, COVID-19 hasn’t been all bad for the arts. Music, theatre, and art became more accessible to the masses through online exhibitions and subscriptions. People had more time to sit back and rewatch their old favourites or to find new artists. It gave some people the time they needed to reconnect with the artistic world, and many did. I think the question we need to be asking now, not only to the government but to ourselves, is what sort of future do we want for the arts?

In all fairness, the £1.5 billion culture package is going to prove useful, if distributed thoughtfully and adequately. But the demise of the arts doesn’t only root from the economy, it roots from attitude and influence. All the care packages in the world can’t help if the message being relayed is that of a careers test. A test that tells artists to become boxers, actors to become electricians and musicians to become soldiers. Understandably this test is there to help anyone struggling in their industry find new opportunities. But for the arts to thrive, it must continue to be supported and encouraged. Children need to be inspired by the dreams of dancing or acting on a stage, and people of all ages need to find some sense of joy in the sounds of live gigs or the strings of an orchestra.

In a time of such disarray, instead of pushing away the very sector that has brought so many together in times of need, the same industry that enabled music to be played during world wars, and national crises, we need to be building upon it. Ian Rankin summed it up perfectly, “without the arts, our lives are impoverished”. The sense of unity that we have gained over the years from the arts sector is unmatchable, it is one of the scarce things that can cast aside differences, and ignores divide. We should be urging people to listen, and learn, to cherish the vast cultural and artistic resources they have. Let’s prioritise and pride ourselves on our arts industry, let’s educate young and old generations on how to uplift one another through creativity, and let’s make ourselves responsible for saving the arts.