There is nothing like a supportive opinion poll to cajole politicians into action. So it may be more than mere coincidence that at the beginning of the year, shortly before the Department of Culture, Media and Sport announced it had allocated £12 million in new funding for the strategic development of the cultural sector, that Arts Council England published a report revealing widespread support for public funding of the arts.
The Arts in England report contained findings from a national survey into public engagement with the arts conducted by the Office of National Statistics for the Arts Council of England between September 2003 and January 2004. Of more than 6,000 participants in the study, 79% said they thought the arts should receive public funding and over 90% of respondents had attended at least one art-related event within the past twelve months. Overall, the findings were extremely positive and reflect the Arts Council’s chairman Sir Christopher Frayling’s optimism that we are now living in a golden age for the arts.
