Liverpool City Council’s Cabinet Member responsible for Culture, Councillor Harry Doyle, comments on the current financial climate as local authorities are feeling the squeeze when investing in the cultural sector. Despite the fact we have been able to support local arts organisations and deliver cultural events for both locals and visitors, it appears that austerity isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. Therefore, it’s essential that all cities and towns come together as a collective to share the power and have a direct say in how spending is distributed.
The arts sector is currently facing an existential funding crisis, with many venues across the country having no choice but to close their doors, and artists ending up leaving their creative passions for new career paths. Culture should be acknowledged as a precious intrinsic link to our identity, since iconic cultural organizations throughout the UK were built over the decades via public investment by either local or central government. Furthermore, as wage inflation continues, the cost of outgoing rocketing, and the public faces a cost-of-living crisis, it could only make matters worse.
It’s time to ask serious questions about the frameworks currently in place and how funding is administered as they aren’t sufficiently working. Arts organisations across Liverpool and the UK nowadays have diversified their income streams and moved towards a more commercial approach model, as opposed to subsidised models. Nevertheless, due to the challenges facing the sector every day, change is necessary to enable the arts to survive.
Liverpool City Council has been investing in culture for many years, and this funding has made a significant impact on the city’s success. The Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, the Everyman & Playhouse Theatres, and Tate Liverpool, three iconic institutions that employ over a thousand people between them and have a local economic contribution of over £100 million, acknowledge the importance of a vibrant cultural sector aligned with the achievement of the city. Our continuing support has enabled them to develop and provide an engaging cultural program for the people of Liverpool and its visitors, which has been accepted internationally
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