THE CALL FOR CREATIVITY

WHO ARE WE

A collective of artists and industry leaders calling for a ‘national reset’ on the UK’s approach to creativity to increase access to the creative industries.

Creativity is not a luxury.

It is not a career for the privileged. It is not entertainment for the few who can afford it Instead, creativity is our lifeblood. It's the thing that makes the impossible possible, that makes us feel alive, that makes something from nothing.

Creativity is how we get through the hard times. It's how build the future of our dreams.

And so we call on our leaders, and those who would hope to lead us, to take the brakes off our creativity. To dismantle barriers to access and protect what helps us thrive. To put wild, creative ambition back at the core of our national story.

— Because we, all of us, from everywhere in the UK - we are creative and this is our creative future.

AMBITION

Research shows we are facing a national mood of despondency. We want our leaders to work with our creative industries to reclaim a more joyful, hopeful, forward-thinking story for Britain’s future

61% of UK adults believe that the UK’s creative inﬂuence in the world has either declined or stayed the same over the past 5-10 years.*

ACCESS

Creativity is for everyone. We want to break down barriers to access and celebrate a nation where talented people from all backgrounds can succeed in a creative career

46% of UK adults say creative and cultural venues have closed where they live. The closure effect is strong in England, at 41%, but even stronger in Scotland and Wales, at 53% and 59% respectively. And More UK adults believe it has become harder rather than easier to get into a creative career if you’re from a working class household (37%).*

*Research conducted by Cedar/OnePulse on behalf of Land of Hope and Story, (Sample: 800 UK adults, April 2024)

INVESTMENT

The Creative Industries is a core UK strength, rightly considered as one of the five key priority sectors for economic growth. It is a full 6% of our economy generating £125bn in GVA per year. But we can’t take our position for granted, and need to take the learnings from the tech sector to incentivise R&D and create the growth capital funding infrastructure currently absent.

Calls on the next UK Government to break down barriers to creativity and is signed by over 250 people including some of the UK’s leading artists and creatives, including Thomas Heatherwick CBE, Adrian Lester CBE, Professor David Olusoga OBE, Caroline Norbury OBE, Pat Younge, Dawn Airey, Caroline Rush CBE, Lou Cordwell OBE, Kwame Kwei-Armah and more.

READ & SIGN THE OPEN LETTER

The open letter