£132 million to grassroots culture & sport for young people 💰 £10 million to fund libraries in every primary school 📚 What's actually new from Labour Conference 2025? CFTA explains 🔍

Today at the Labour Party Conference, the Culture Secretary unveiled plans for a new national competition celebrating culture beyond big cities 🏘️ @lisanandymp.bsky.social has advocated for towns throughout her political career, and this competition will sit alongside the UK City of Culture 🏙

“My hero is anyone who democratises art, who makes it accessible to everyone, who challenges people but makes them want to get involved.” Fresh from hosting the Sky Arts Awards, Bill Bailey is in the Telegraph this week with a loud & proud case for the arts 📢 www.telegraph.co.uk/gift/5d8941b...

Here's our latest pyramid scheme.

Owen Cooper's record-breaking Emmy win is a result of his time at Drama MOB, a drama school in Manchester. He is living proof of what young people can achieve when they have access to arts education 🏆

Today at the DCMS Select Committee, the Culture Secretary spoke about why independent cinemas are critical cultural infrastructure. She also gave a shoutout to Leigh Film Society 📣 🏷️ What independent cinema deserves some love?

“You don’t get Ed Sheeran, Dua Lipa or Oasis without small venues. The collapse of independent venues puts the entire night-time economy at risk.” New research has found that 1 in 4 late-night venues have closed since 2020. www.theguardian.com/business/202...

🚨 NEW: the share of GCSE entries in arts subjects has reached a new low – but the rate of decline appears to be slowing. www.campaignforthearts.org/news/exam-re...

🚨 NEW: the share of A-level entries in arts subjects has reached a new low 🔻 SO: enrolment in arts A-levels is now 31% lower than it was in 2010 (and under half of what it was for the performing arts)

The number of students studying drama at A level has plummeted by 52% since 2010, according to research by bsky.app/profile/campaignfo... Read more 👇

Our snapshot report into the health of the UK’s arts sector, featured by @museumsassociation.org 👇

“The ecosystem is essential, not optional.” 🎥 In her maiden House of Lords speech, new peer @thangamdebbonaire.bsky.social highlighted the need for a "political case" for the arts, and for treating them as an ecosystem.

The new #StateOfTheArts report from @campaignforthearts.org shows deepening inequalities in arts access. At Create, we saw during #CreateWeek just how powerful creativity can be - and how vital it is to make it available to everyone. 📊 Read the report: www.campaignforthearts.org/the-state-of...

And finally… 5 of 5 of our annual arts health check is Arts Employment, with @artsemergency.bsky.social 🛟

It’s week 4 of our annual arts health check 🩺 Today, we look at Arts Funding 👇

📌 THE STATE OF THE ARTS: One Year On 📌 #3 out of 5 in our annual healthcheck is Arts Provision, feat @musicvenuetrust.bsky.social 1/4 🧵

In December, the Government set up a council to shape the Creative Industries Sector Plan 🗺️ When the Sector Plan was published in June, we welcomed the commitment to give every child in England a high-quality creative education 🎨 This week in the DCMS Select Committee 👇

A year on from their landmark State of the Arts report, our friends over at @campaignforthearts.org are diving back into the health of Arts Education in the UK. Just another reason to sign our open letter to the Govt to put creativity at the heart of the curriculum.🔗 theartsandmindscampaign.org.uk/

📌 THE STATE OF THE ARTS: One Year On 📌 Last July, we published a landmark report with @ccmpswarwick.bsky.social examining the State of the Arts in the UK across 5 health metrics. One year later, we’re revisiting each one 🧮 #2 is Arts Education, with the @neunion.bsky.social

One year on from Labour's election win, our Director asks: has the government delivered? 📦 campaignforthearts.org/news/one-yea...

📌 THE STATE OF THE ARTS: One Year On 📌 Last July, we published a landmark report with @ccmpswarwick.bsky.social examining the State of the Arts in the UK across 5 health metrics. One year later, we’re revisiting each one to see what’s changed – and what hasn’t 🩻 🧵 1/4

Today in the House of Lords, the Government was asked "what assessment they have made of the value of the subsidised arts sector". Baroness Twycross said the Government "strongly believes in the benefits of publicly funded arts". 🧵 (1/6)

It's only 7 days until July, and that means #CreateWeek – a celebration of creativity founded on the belief that people need to create 🎨 Our friends at Create have commissioned artists to design seven free creative activities, and we’re encouraging everyone to join in 👉 @createcharity.bsky.social

Huge congratulations to our friends over at Sky Arts for launching the 4th edition of Access All Arts, live this week in 13k primary schools across the UK and Ireland 🏫 This is an amazing (free) educational cross-arts programme for schools. Well done ✨ 👉 accessallarts.skyarts.uk

🎉 Create Week wouldn’t be possible without our brilliant partners! We’re so grateful to everyone helping us celebrate creativity during #CreateWeek2025 💛 including @64millionartists.bsky.social  @campaignforthearts.org @readingagency.bsky.social  - and so many more! #CreateWeek2025 #ArtsForAll

The Campaign for the Arts’ Spending Review Explainer 🧶👇

Culture, Media & Sport is once again facing real-terms cuts until 2029 – though these are not as deep as we saw last year. There will be some growth in funding for schools and local councils – but there will still be considerable pressures on their arts budgets.

"Through investment and things like scholarships, media, music and cultural efforts, you just think, we’re asleep at the wheel." As the UK Government concludes its spending review, advisers warn of a funding crisis in key cultural and educational institutions. www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...

Citizens from every parliamentary constituency in the UK have come together, ahead of the forthcoming Spending Review, to urge the Chancellor to protect and grow public investment in the arts and culture. 🎶💃🎭🎨✍️📸🎥🧵🏛️ www.campaignforthearts.org/news/citizen...

🥁 Today, we delivered our petition to the Chancellor – signed by over 37,000 citizens from every one of the UK’s 650 constituencies 🥁 💜 Thank you to everyone who signed, shared, and shouted about the petition. @RachelReeves — over to you ⌛️

We're now just 250 short of 37,000 signatures on our petition 🤏 That's tens of thousands of voices from every part of the UK delivering one clear message: if the government wants national renewal, they should invest in the arts and culture 🌱 HELP US HIT 37K 👉 campaignforthearts.org/petitions/sp...

“If there’s an opportunity, why wouldn’t you be bold?” Lord Neil Mendoza has told the @financialtimes.com that this is a "brilliant moment to increase spending" on the arts, science and higher education – areas in which the UK is a "leader in the world". www.ft.com/content/2981...

The arts make us happier and healthier! We're not even joking. 😂 CFTA Director @jackgamble.bsky.social will be joining @simonforstroud.bsky.social‬, Louisa Jackson & @jonathanpienews.bsky.social for a chat about comedy as healthcare! Next week at SXSW London. 👇 www.sxswlondon.com/session/come...

“If we want to maintain the UK’s position as a global leader in theatre – and continue to inspire the next generation of actors, writers, and technicians – then government must act.” A new report finds "mounting and unsustainable pressures" on our theatres. www.theguardian.com/stage/2025/m...

👀 We're #hiring! 👀 The Campaign for the Arts is looking for a new Research & Analysis Lead to help us produce robust evidence, timely insights and a more informed public debate 🗣️ Find out more → www.campaignforthearts.org/about/jobs/

“There was an outcry recently in Berlin because of a threat to reduce the city’s arts funding to about €800m [£674m]. The total we have for the whole of England is £450m.” Arts Council England chair Sir Nicholas Serota has said the arts are at a ‘tipping point’. www.theguardian.com/culture/2025...

Over 20,000 people have signed our petition in less than a week! ✍️💥 Thank you for your support. Together we can urge the UK Government to protect and grow investment in the arts and culture. Let's keep it going 👇🌱 www.campaignforthearts.org/petitions/sp...

Together we've made it to over 8,000 signatures on Day 1! Thank you so much to everyone who has signed & shared so far ✍️ Keep it going today 👇🌱 www.campaignforthearts.org/petitions/sp...

🎤 If the government wants national renewal, they should invest in the arts and culture 🎤 Today, we're launching a petition to remind Rachel Reeves: the arts make our lives happier and our communities stronger. Now is the moment to invest in them 🌱 www.campaignforthearts.org/petitions/sp... 🧶👇

"From artists and educators to galleries and audiences, every component plays a role in sustaining a vibrant cultural landscape that is genuinely world-leading." A timely & compelling case for arts investment by @elizaeaston.bsky.social @johnhansardgallery.bsky.social CVAN👇 cvan.art/work-campaig...

We’re pleased to see reporting by Patrick Jowett in @artsprofessional.co.uk that the gender pay gap in the cultural sector started to move in the right direction last year, down to 10.9% 🧶👇

👏👏👏 very exciting collaboration. @musicvenuetrust.bsky.social and the V&A are calling for submissions of ephemera since 1988 documenting grassroots and independent music spaces (pubs, clubs & venues). Details in post below - send in by the end of May 🪩

theguardian.com/stage/2025/a... “It’s very ­different from a decade ago. People are not coming through the normal pipelines because kids are not doing drama in school and so are not making props, or doing the lighting, or painting scenery.” Today, we're thinking about pipelines 🪢

Thank you to Lesley Manville for speaking out after her Olivier Awards win last night, calling for more sustainable funding for regional theatres in the UK 🎭 Here is a clip of Lesley with Emma Barnett on BBC Today 🎤

Loving reading this morning about Herefordshire & Worcestershire NHS Trust's Art for Health campaign, harnessing the power of art that celebrates the beauty of the local landscape to reduce anxiety in waiting rooms and stimulate memory in dementia wards 🧠

☀️ Two sunny singing stories this Friday on the BBC: a 750-strong community choir in Belfast, and the 9th Clash of the Choirs in Somerset (including the hallowed clap-o-meter). "It's one of those events that people can express how they feel through song." 🧵 1/2 bbc.co.uk/news/article...

"We trebled the amount of money to the arts." Despite a challenging economic backdrop, Jennie Lee transformed public funding and access over her 6 years as Minister for the Arts. Read more about her trailblazing white paper on this, its 60th anniversary: www.campaignforthearts.org/news/jennie-...

Jennie Lee's trailblazing white paper for the arts was published 60 years ago today. It insisted that the arts should be central to everyday life and publicly supported for the benefit of all. www.campaignforthearts.org/news/jennie-...

Campaign for the Arts Director @jackgamble.bsky.social will be joining @ayeshahazarika.bsky.social to discuss the UK Government’s new arts and culture funding announcements on Times Radio #CultureHour from 6pm. Listen live here 👇 www.thetimes.com/radio/live

NEW: The UK Government has committed "over £270m" to an 'Arts Everywhere Fund', and green-lit £67m of investment in cultural infrastructure projects. Here's our explainer and a snap analysis 👇 www.campaignforthearts.org/news/uk-gove...