#WhyArtsMatter: Putting Arts Back on the Agenda

A new campaign #WhyArtsMatter has launched today (Wednesday 9 October 2019) to raise awareness of the scope of the arts and its importance in our cultural and economic fabric.

We want people to take part by shooting a short video clip describing #WhyArtsMatter to share on social media. We hope to create a groundswell of support for the arts that will inform and inspire decision makers to get behind bringing the arts into prominence as a core part of the school curriculum.

Teachers, parents and pupils need support to bring art, design, music, dance and drama back into classrooms and everyone can be a part of the message – please share a video and say #WhyArtsMatter to you.

The campaign is spearheaded by the University of Lincoln with support from Alan Bishop, Chief Executive at Creative Industries Federation, who launched #WhyArtsMatter during a visit to our College of Arts.

He said: “The ideology of ‘core’ subjects is difficult to overcome. It has eaten away at the teaching of arts and it’s disturbing.

“The appetite is there but unless young people know what the arts has to offer and how they could be inspired to pursue creative careers, we and they risk a diminishing of our cultural strengths.

“There must be a realisation that we need to treasure what really matters to our country.”

The University of Lincoln has a proud heritage in the arts, tracing its roots back to 1861 and the Hull College of Art. What we learn from history is that the arts don’t stand alone, they have integral relationships with science and technology, they need each other to flourish and all depend on a rich supply of talent from our schools, colleges and universities.

Professor Mary Stuart, Vice Chancellor of the University of Lincoln, said: “Arts matter because the arts make life worth living. The arts enhance our lives, they tell us where we come from and help us to understand each other.

“Creativity is also essential to our future society. While many industrial processes can be automated, creativity cannot. We will always need designers, writers, musicians, performers and artists.

“We are launching the Why Arts Matter campaign because we have seen the erosion of the arts at all levels of education. We want to get young people back into the arts and to celebrate why arts matter.”

We are also seeking support from advocates, including staff, students, alumni, honorary graduates, and supporters across the creative sectors to explain #WhyArtsMatter