In the 1950s, adult educators created Art for the People, an initiative to give everyone access to the arts. We argue for collaboration between arts and education institutions to restore that vision as a class ceiling of lost opportunities and cuts risks holding us all back.
The creative sector is a big part of the UK economy, employing two million people and contributing £108 billion in gross value added annually. We know this is one of the Prime Minister’s priority sectors for economic growth.
Barely half of our top actors come from schools in the state sector – we risk missing out on so much talent if people feel locked out based on background or because community facilities are lost. Former Doctor Who, Christopher Eccleston said on the closure of the theatre in which he started his career: “You don’t believe if you come from a council estate that you can be an actor or a poet or a painter. So places like Oldham Coliseum… they’re a beacon for people like me.”
Writers like Malorie Blackman, Andrea Levy and Anna Burns, who have added to much in recent years to the diversity of voice in this country, were able to develop and refine their craft as adults at City Lit in London.
