Bryant seeks to ‘rescue arts from financial black hole’

Labour is intent on turning around the prospects of theatres, museums and galleries across the country by addressing funding issues and building problems, Arts Minister Chris Bryant has said.

Speaking at a fringe event in Liverpool at the Labour Party conference yesterday (22 September) he told attendees that he wanted to talk about "black holes", an apparent reference to Chancellor Rachel Reeves assertion that there is a £22bn black hole in the nation's finances.

"It seems to me that the biggest black hole that we've had for the last 14 years is the black hole into which the arts and the creative industries have been placed," Bryant said at the Creative UK event.

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"I want to rescue the arts and the creative industries in this country from that black hole." 

Bryant said that while there has been "loads of amazing stuff" going on in the sector in recent years, there are multiple issues to be addressed. 

"Most of the theatres in London aren't dark at the moment, but there are theatres in the country which are really struggling," he said.

"Lots of local authority museums and galleries are having a tough time. There's problems with the buildings, there's long-term capital problems [and] there's the situation of what's happened to funding for the arts, which has struggled over the last 14 years.

"I really hope that we can transform all of that because of the very simple reason that there is nothing better for the UK as part of our soft power, as part of our enjoyment of life, as part of our understanding of what it is to be a human being, that we have vibrant, lively arts and creative industries for everybody."

"It's not just that they are far bigger industry than many other industries that politicians spend a great deal of time talking about – worth £125bn every year. 

"It's not just that they employ so many thousands of people and not just in London, the south and the south east, but across the whole of the United Kingdom with special hubs for video games in Dundee and Guildford and Royal Leamington Spa and places like that.

"If you read a novel you have a chance to live somebody else's life to enter into what it is to be another human being. And if we could do that more in society, wouldn't we be a happier and more joyful country?  

"I want everybody in the UK to have an opportunity to enjoy the creative industries." 

Bryant also said government is committed to ensuring all children have a "proper" creative education. 

"Part of the black hole of the last 14 years that we've had the number of children studying arts, music, dance, theatre and so on falling so dramatically. We need to completely turn that round in the next few years," he said.

"It's not going to happen in the twinkling of an eye, but it really does need to happen."