CREATIVE ARTS AND THE COST OF LIVING

Since 2022, the cost of living in the UK has surged, severely impacting the arts sector and broader creative industries. In its newly published The State of the Arts report, Campaign for The Arts reported that local government revenue funding for culture and related services decreased by 29% in Scotland, 40% in Wales, and 48% in England.

In our 2023 Create/Jacksons of Yorkshire survey, we found that 27% of Brits identified lack of money as a barrier to being more creative. Our projects reach those who have least access, focusing on engaging the UK’s most marginalised participants in inspiring, sustainable arts initiatives in areas where provision is poor and engagement in the arts is low.

Access to the creative arts is essential, offering numerous life-enriching benefits. As the Creative Health Review highlights in its report, the arts build social cohesion, improve health conditions, enhance quality of life and improve mental health and brain health.

We spoke with Create participants about the impact of the cost-of-living increases on their lives and the benefits our projects have provided.

BARRIERS TO THE ARTS AND THE IMPORTANCE OF ENGAGING

Elizabeth, an adult carer from Wigan and Leigh Carers Centre, and Cindy, an adult carer from Harrow, who took part in our creative:voices programme, opened up about their experiences with money.

Elizabeth: “There are barriers that stop me from being creative, like time and money. It’s very expensive, particularly if you’re on a pension or you’ve had to give up work. The Carer’s Allowance is next to nothing, so affording to do things that are for you is not really a priority.”

Cindy: “Projects like this help [carers] to meet one another because we are isolated in what we do. We’re at home a lot of the time and, because we have very little money, some of us can’t go out and socialise. It costs a lot of money to take care of children who have disabilities. Therefore, projects like this one are perfect. If I’d had to pay for it, I’d really have thought twice. When I found out the project was free, I was amazed.

“The project [I took part in] was ceramics. We used self-hardening clay, which is brilliant because you can see the results immediately and you get a real sense of achievement.”

Elizabeth: “I have really tried to engage with all the different Create projects and found that I liked things that I didn’t think I would like. I think it’s important because it gets people together [who] wouldn’t necessarily have opportunities to meet. It goes across class, gender, age. I’m not particularly sociable. I don’t have any family, so it’s just us on our own. I’ve learnt that I can be a bit more sociable. I think I need people and connection a bit more than I think I do. It does do you good.”

creative:voices is funded by The Smiles Fund, awarding funds from Walkers and Comic Relief. Learn more about creative:voices here.

HOW CREATE PROJECTS BOOST CONFIDENCE AND FINANCIAL AWARENESS

Avita, a young carer from Bromley, and Kai, a young carer from Romsey, took part in our creative financial literacy programme, change:matters. They spoke to us about their experiences and knowledge of money and how change:matters brought joy and understanding.

Avita: “It’s really expensive, life now! Every time we go out, I want to get things, but now I realise that every little thing adds up. I really enjoyed learning about money, the way it works, how much things really cost and just adding it all up. By the end of the year, it could cost so much. [The project] is going to help when we’re older, knowing about how things cost, and how to budget.”

Kai: “With how life’s going now, it’s got to be one of the most crucial things to learn because if we don’t know much about money, things will get a lot worse.

“The best way to learn is practically. You engage, and actually feel like you’re learning a lot more than if you’re just being talked at. [change:matters was] a nice balance between information and doing something creative. I think it should be more common, more people should learn about money.”

Avita: “I’ve enjoyed that I’ve made some friends and [the project] has given me a confidence boost with my music skills. I think this might make me start going to school [music] lessons. It’s quite fun working with other people who I don’t know.”

Kai: “The project itself was epic. I enjoy doing creative things. Doing it with friends, learning new things and meeting new people overall it was one of the best things ever. I think it’s a brilliant thing to learn, especially with how I learned it. You gotta live life creatively.”

change:matters is funded by The Chartered Accountants’ Livery Charity. Learn more about change:matters here.