Last July, we published a landmark report with the University of Warwick examining the state of the arts in the UK across five interconnected health metrics.
One year later, we’ve performed something of a ‘check-up’, revisiting each metric to see what’s changed – and what hasn’t.
In this article we’ll share 5 charts and 5 reactions from other organisations that are closely engaged with each metric.
The charts don’t provide a comprehensive picture, or a universal one (two of them illustrate data that only applies to England). They are only snapshots of the broader situation, but we believe that they are striking snapshots that warrant attention.
So let’s revisit our five health metrics – in no particular order:
1. Arts Engagement
A society in which the arts are healthy is one in which people from all communities and backgrounds are engaging with what’s on offer and participating in the arts.
Our updated analysis of official statistics found that…
📈 More adults in England are engaging with arts and culture
🚧 But engagement remains unequal
For some activities, this “engagement gap” between the most and least deprived people significantly widened – like going to the theatre, a concert or gig, and making music. For others, that gap closed slightly – like going to the cinema and taking photos as a hobby.
What hasn’t changed is the need for opportunities in all our everyday lives to engage with art – both to experience and to make it.
Nicky Goulder MBE – CEO of Create Arts, which runs the annual ‘Create Week’ celebrating creativity for everyone – said:
“We all need creativity to thrive, but opportunities to engage with the arts are still unequally distributed. That is why expanding access to creativity is crucial, and initiatives like Create Week matter.
We encourage everyone to stay involved now Create Week 2025 is over, and work towards a society in which all people, without exception, can benefit from the power of the creative arts.”
2. Arts Education
A society in which the arts are healthy is one in which high-quality arts education is valued and available to all, fostering creativity and developing the artists and audiences of the future.
Our updated analysis of official statistics found that…
📉 English state secondaries are spending even less time on arts subjects
🚜 And this is likely to be exacerbating inequalities across the cultural sphere
The figures we analysed only refer to state schools, and not independent ones. Looking at data about new arts facilities, artist-in-residence schemes, and academic strategies, one recent study found that over the same period, the arts have become more highly valued and integrated into the curriculum in private schools.
As a result, access to arts and cultural degrees and careers is highly skewed.
Sarah Kilpatrick – President of the National Education Union, which is coordinating the Arts and Minds Campaign – said:
“All students deserve a rich creative, artistic and cultural education of the kind that the wealthiest in our society take for granted. The arts make us who we are. Self-expression and shared experiences help us to define ourselves.
Private schools know the value of arts and creative subjects and the doors they open for children that study them. But too many state schools are constrained by underfunding and the curtailment of the curriculum which comes from the high-stakes accountability system we’ve had imposed upon them.
As a result, we have seen the status of these subjects plummet. We have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to restore the status of the arts in schools, and ensure that all children receive a rich education that allows them to thrive.”
3. Arts Provision
A society in which the arts are healthy is one in which there is an extensive and diverse cultural offering: places to go and things to do.
According to the latest analysis by the Music Venue Trust…
🚪 A net 25 UK Grassroots Music Venues shut their doors this year
🛟 A record 1 in 4 of those that are left now face existential threats to staying open
The threats faced by Grassroots Music Venues are grave – and unfortunately they aren’t unique. Nearly 40% of UK theatre buildings are at risk of closure. Only 41% of independent cinemas and mixed arts venues are confident their venue could survive the next three years without capital support. Over half of organisations funded by Arts Council England describe being in a “precarious financial position”.
Sophie Brownlee, External Affairs Manager at the Music Venue Trust, said:
“There is a very real crisis in the grassroots of our live music industry and the decreasing access to live music in our towns, cities and communities.
In 2024, the number of venues making a loss increased from 38.5% to 43.8%, with more venues seeking help from our Emergency Response Service year-on-year. Those venues that do manage to remain open, despite the financial challenges, are being forced to decrease their live music offer – running fewer shows at a higher cost.
Without dramatically improving the operating environment for grassroots music venues, and embracing the policy changes they need across planning, VAT, ownership and business rates, the result will be simple and stark: people will not be able to access live music in their local community, or the opportunities and experiences that come with it.”
4. Arts Funding
A society in which the arts are healthy is one in which there is robust and sustained funding, from both public and private sources, so arts initiatives can grow and flourish.
Our recent analysis of the June Spending Review found that…
🥉 Per-person spending on Culture, Media & Sport has fallen significantly since 2010, and is now projected to fall even further by the end of the decade
🥊 The impact of this is already being felt by artists and organisations, and the communities that they serve
Lizzie Crump & Clare Thurman, Co-Directors of What Next?, said:
“Public funding for the arts and culture is critical to the fabric of our society. Culture is part of a vital ecosystem that feeds the creative industries and contributes to growth – but is far more than the sum of these parts. The arts and culture are about joy, community, and the creation of new ideas and shared experiences.
It is a professional sector in its own right – one made up of large and small organisations, and powered by people (largely freelancers). It contributes strongly to many other agendas – from health to education – but is not defined by them.
The data provided by the Campaign for the Arts shows an erosion of funding that is deeply concerning. We have already seen the impact of years of retrenchment on people and organisations and on the communities that they serve; affecting jobs, buildings, the talent pipeline, innovation and opportunity.
There are holes in the fabric and we cannot afford for this to continue. Government has the ability and the mechanisms to turn this trajectory around: to fix these foundations, but also to be ambitious for our collective future. We need new ideas and models, risk and creativity. We need DCMS and the Treasury to listen and to act.”
5. Arts Employment
A society in which the arts are healthy is one in which people can sustain a decent living from their work creating or supporting art.
Our updated analysis of official statistics found that…
⛓️💥 Under 21s in the cultural sector are earning a fraction of the average for their age
🏏 This is likely to have a knock-on effect on who gets to contribute to the culture they live in
That’s if you earn a salary at all: the available data doesn’t consider the 47.9% of cultural sector workers who are self-employed. Artists Union England reported this month that 79% of their members did not earn enough from their art practice to live on.
And these figures hide other disparities: the gender pay gap closed slightly in 2024 after expanding year-on-year since 2021, but women still earn 83.1p for every £1 earned by men. The median wage in 2024 for workers across the cultural sector is over double in London versus the North East. DCMS doesn’t include ethnicity in this data.
So, the long-term, structured support for young people accessing cultural work provided by organisations such as Arts Emergency is essential to an equitable sector – and a representative culture.
Neil Griffiths, CEO of Arts Emergency, said:
“Creativity and culture don’t operate like typical sectors. They are not just industries; they are communities. Relationships and access to networks carry amplified influence on who gets in and gets on.
First-hand accounts from our community over the years reveal that many people earn a lot less than their peers in other sectors, and have to leave the industry or struggle to advance in it without having additional financial support.
Rather than fix ‘leaky pipelines’, we believe it’s vital we build a power-base for those on the outside to work together to change these industries profoundly and permanently – so that everyone can contribute to the culture they live in, in all kinds of valuable ways.”
Jack Gamble, Director of the Campaign for the Arts, said:
“One year on, the state of the arts in the UK remains a profound concern. Tens of millions of us engage with the arts – but threats to arts provision and funding continue to mount, arts teaching hours in English state secondary schools continue to fall, and access barriers and inequalities continue to blight our cultural landscape.
The arts are not a luxury, but an essential ingredient in a healthy society. For us to thrive, the arts must too. That’s why the Campaign for the Arts is working tirelessly to research, advocate and engage the public. Evidence-led and people-powered, we are striving to build a society in which the benefits of the arts and culture are valued and available to all.”
Like all our work, our research and analysis is funded almost entirely by small donations from our supporters, averaging £5.49 a month. If you found this valuable, please consider becoming a donor with £5 a month or whatever you can afford – we truly rely on supporters like you.
