Fair play for rural arts

A new report is lobbying for statutory agencies to produce a strategic plan in relation to culture, creativity and rural communities. Commissioned by the Rural Cultural Forum, the report argues for the introduction of a Rural Cultural Strategy embracing rural, cultural and economic development, environmental sustainability and planning issues, to set direction, co-ordinate initiatives, and sustain and enhance arts practice. It concludes that rural funding for culture remains “piecemeal and under-coordinated”, and that this should be addressed in order to ensure fairness and equality of access to culture for rural communities.