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www.artseast.co.uk
A cultural roadmap for the future
Out There Arts. At the beginning of 2020 the Arts Council published Let’s Create, our new ten-year strategy. It was a hugely exciting moment for us, but this was soon swept away by the raft of challenges that the pandemic forced everyone to face. Throughout the pandemic, we saw the incredible way that creative organisations were able to work with their communities, to support them. And we also saw the single biggest public investment in cultural life since the Second World War in the shape of the Government’s £1.96 billion Culture Recovery Fund, which has provided vital support to so many. In a year that we have celebrated our 75th anniversary, we have now been able to start to look forward. And as part of that, we have launched our Delivery Plan – a document that sets out detailed actions on how we plan to deliver on the ambitions of Let’s Create. Despite being written before the pandemic, the vision set out in Let’s Create still holds true. In fact, now it is perhaps even more critical: by 2030 we want England to be a country in which the creativity of each of us is valued and given the chance to flourish, and where every one of us has access to a remarkable range of high-quality cultural experiences.
Photo: David Street In Let’s Create we said we wanted to give more people the chance to experience amazing culture wherever they live. As part of the Arts Council’s commitment to play its part in delivering the Government’s programme of Levelling Up, our Delivery Plan names the 54 places that will be some of the first we think are ready to help achieve that promise – including Great Yarmouth, Fenland and Peterborough. These are places where we see huge potential for us to work with local partners, to make new investments and to ensure that local communities can experience and participate in great cultural experiences. In each of our priority places, there is a clear ambition to make a difference and to harness culture to effect real change. Whilst we have set out a commitment to work closely with local stakeholders in these 54 places, it does not reduce our existing, and future plans, across the country to support those communities that are already showing how a rich and diverse creative and cultural offering can be truly inspiring and nurturing for everyone. Let’s Create has always been an invitation, one that asks everyone to join us as we work towards ensuring that England is a truly creative nation. We hope that you will join us on that journey.
