Local artists speak out against council's proposed changes to arts funding

Local artists have spoken out against Suffolk County Council’s proposed changes to arts funding.

Transcript

00:00 In a way they mean less to me personally because I'm nearing the end of my active life as an

00:09 actor and a director. What worries me is that the younger generation will not be able to

00:16 benefit from the value that the arts generally can bring into their lives. It enriches their

00:22 lives. It's not enough for children to have the three hours and to go to school and to

00:28 learn by rote. In fact it's crucial that their lives are enriched and they're given the opportunity

00:35 to find, to explore a wider world and music, dance, the theatre, museums, all of those

00:42 things enrich their lives. We need to recognise that and by recognising it we need to support

00:49 it and I do feel passionately about that. We don't want children's lives to be bereft

00:56 of those colours, of that richness in their life.

00:59 Stop the cuts! Stop the cuts! Stop the cuts! Stop the cuts! Stop the cuts!

01:05 As a very independent Suffolk-based artist, you know, I find it hard to apply for funding

01:11 so everything is normally done by me out of my pocket and we try to do these funding applications

01:18 and you know some are successful and these cuts are very important because a lot of people

01:24 don't normally have opportunities and they're now saying 100% cuts so we didn't have the

01:30 greatest amount of opportunities to start with and now you're saying completely useless

01:33 so it's important that I'm here today and supporting everyone, not just me and the whole

01:38 of the culture and arts community in Ipswich. I absolutely stand by the belief that arts

01:45 and culture are essential for human health and happiness. They bring communities together,

01:51 they keep us going in tough times and we're in very tough times at the moment and I think

01:56 that this new funding model that Suffolk County Council really doesn't reflect an understanding

02:02 of the huge value, the essential value that they bring to our communities and that actually

02:07 are shared priorities of the County Council and East Suffolk Council ourselves, investing

02:13 in the community. So I think it's a very retrograde move and I think it signals a chronic

02:18 undervaluing of the value of arts and culture in our country.

02:21 [BLANK_AUDIO]