Wednesday 6 October 2010

Tory plans for a culture of cuts

A letter to the Guardian, 1st October 2010

It has taken 50 years to create a vibrant arts culture in Britain, one that is the envy of the world. It enriches the lives of millions of Britons and attracts millions more visitors from other countries. It does all this at a cost that is no more than a tiny fraction of the national budget.

We appeal to the government not to slash funding to the arts and heritage. It risks destroying this remarkable and fertile landscape of culture and creativity, and the social and economic benefits it brings to all. We recognise that cuts and efficiencies are necessary, but the 25% or more funding cuts being considered will sabotage Britain's unparalleled achievements in this area.

It will have a particularly damaging impact on smaller-scale museums and galleries and those in the regions. Many of us had our first inspiring encounters with art in these places. Radical cuts to the arts would force hundreds of them to close or drastically curtail their programmes. This will undermine not only the present health of our cultural life, but its future development, and will help ensure that one of our country's greatest success stories is brought to a crashing and abrupt end.

Faisal Abdu'Allah, David Austen, Charles Avery, Fiona Banner, Jordan Baseman, Becky Beasley, Zarina Bhimji, Karla Black, Martin Boyce, Anthony Caro, Jake & Dinos Chapman, Adam Chodzko, Steve Claydon, Nathan Coley, Matt Collishaw, Nigel Cooke, Tony Cragg, Michael Craig-Martin, Juan Cruz, Ian Davenport, Richard Deacon, Tacita Dean, Richard Deacon, Jeremy Deller, Willie Doherty, Peter Doig, Tracey Emin, Nogah Engler, Luke Fowler, Anya Gallaccio, Ryan Gander, Ori Gerscht, Liam Gillick, Andy Goldsworthy, Douglas Gordon, Antony Gormley, Brian Griffiths, Sunil Gupta, Maggi Hambling, Richard Hamilton, Mona Hatoum, Susan Hiller, Damien Hirst, David Hockney, Howard Hodgkin, Runa Islam, Alison Jackson, Chantal Joffe, Isaac Julien, Alan Kane, Anish Kapoor, Scott King, Michael Landy, Mark Leckey, Hew Locke, Sarah Lucas, Steve McQueen, Malcolm Morley, Ron Mueck, David Nash, Rosalind Nashashibi, Mike Nelson, Tim Noble, Humphrey Ocean, Harold Offeh, Julian Opie, Cornelia Parker, Peter Peri, Grayson Perry, Susan Philipsz, Tom Phillips, Marc Quinn, Fiona Rae, Peter Randall-Page, Bridget Riley, Conrad Shawcross, Yinka Shonibare, David Shrigley, Bob and Roberta Smith, Terry Smith, Simon Starling, Sam Taylor-Wood, Juergen Teller, Wolfgang Tillmans, Mark Titchner, Keith Tyson, Francis Upritchard, Jessica Voorsanger, Mark Wallinger, Rebecca Warren, Gillian Wearing, Sue Webster, Richard Wentworth, Rachel Whiteread, Cathy Wilkes, Jane and Louise Wilson, Bill Woodrow, Richard Wright, Carey Young, Toby Ziegler