Crisis in Arts and Culture Funding

As people who work in, or care about the arts and culture, we believe that without sustainable public funding we risk destroying the pathways that enable our future generations of artists and their art to flourish.

We must remember that many of our most internationally recognised and successful artists and creative workers, those who are lauded at the BAFTAs, Oscars, Emmys and working at the top of the profession, in many cases started their careers in regional theatres and small arts venues.

We support the hundreds of thousands of people, and in particular workers in the arts and culture, taking part in the March for the Alternative on 26th March and call upon all those who have a role in taking decisions on cuts to arts and culture funding, from local councillors to MPs, to think hard in the coming weeks and months about the potential damage that could be caused to our economy and society.

We join with the following in speaking out against cuts to one of the most successful and innovative sectors in our society:

Lynda Bellingham, Brenda Blethyn, Samantha Bond, Kenneth Branagh, Jo Brand, Rory Bremner, Rob Brydon, Saffron Burrows, Simon Callow, Peter Capaldi, Oliver Ford Davies, Robert Glenister, Sheila Hancock, Miranda Hart, Jeremy Irons, Mike Leigh, Adrian Lester, Roger Lloyd-Pack, Matthew Macfadyen, Patrick Malahide, Miriam Margolyes, Ian McDiarmid, Ian McShane, Dame Helen Mirren, Bill Paterson, Maxine Peake, Timothy Pigott-Smith, Diana Quick, Tony Robinson, Prunella Scales, Martin Shaw, Michael Sheen, Malcolm Sinclair, Imelda Staunton, Alison Steadman, Clive Swift, David Tennant, David Threlfall, Sandi Toksvig, Ricky Tomlinson, Johnny Vegas, Julie Walters, Samuel West, Timothy West, Penelope Wilton, Victoria Wood