News / Arts
An open letter to Bristol City Council: ‘Protect independent culture’
Bristol trades on its cultural reputation, yet after years of chronic underinvestment, the ecology that sustains the city’s creative life is beginning to break down.
At present, the council invests just 0.1% of its budget in supporting the cultural sector. This investment programme is currently paused, with only existing commitments being honoured. Even before this, the level of support was woefully insufficient, facing cuts of 40% between 2018 and 2023 alone.
Yet the council’s own research shows that the cultural sector generated £892.9 million in economic impact in 2023/24. In other words, culture is central to Bristol’s economic success, yet by withdrawing support the council demonstrates a lack of understanding of the underlying ecology that makes this success possible. A genuine city of culture depends on an entire ecosystem: places to learn, make, experiment, and share ideas; independent organisations that nurture new talent; and platforms that enable international exchange and opportunity. These cultural foundations are essential for the economic success stories to exist at all.
Alternatively, the city council hopes others will step in to support culture. Yet Arts Council England are also stepping back, redirecting resources towards towns rather than cities, leaving Bristol off the list of priority places. It is therefore essential that the Council recognise the critical role it plays in upholding the city’s cultural sector – an investment that consistently delivers returns many times over.
This crisis couldn’t have hit at a worse time. Bristol now has the most unaffordable housing outside London with opportunities not available to match the high cost of living. The result is a city that has become increasingly hostile to the artists and cultural workers who make it thrive. The damage is already visible – longstanding cultural organisations are being forced to close while others are scaling back their programmes.
Artists and cultural workers are tired of pleading for the protection of a token 0.1% investment while the city trades off their work. Transformative change is needed. We call on Bristol City Council to not only protect the current Cultural Investment Programme, but to commit to increasing cultural spending over the next five years to truly reflect the return on investment that the sector brings.
There are no easy solutions, but it is time for the Council to face reality: cultural support cannot be cut indefinitely without severe social and economic consequences. Culture is not a luxury – it is the lifeblood of Bristol, and it is time the city invested in it accordingly.
More than 1000 people have signed this open letter so far. To add your support, visit bit.ly/bristolculturecampaign
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In response, Bristol City Council leader, Tony Dyer, and Ani Townsend, co-chair of the Bristol One City
Culture Board, have written this open letter to Bristol’s creative and culture sector:
We want to begin by acknowledging your recent correspondence and the strength of feeling across the sector about the proposals set out in our budget consultation.
We share your passion for our arts, creative and culture economies and you will not hear any argument from us about the value and opportunity the sector adds to our city.
The financial situation facing our council—and local authorities across the country—is stark.
Rising demand and costs for the services people rely on, combined with continued real-terms cuts in central government funding, mean we must consider every non-statutory budget carefully to meet our legal duty to set a balanced budget.
This is not a choice we make lightly. No decision has been taken on the future of the Cultural Investment Programme, and the proposals remain subject to many rounds of review until all councillors vote on the budget at February’s Full Council meeting.
We deferred these proposals last year to give us time to develop a Cultural Strategy and explore alternative, sustainable funding models. That work continues at pace, and we include some detail of that work in this letter with more to follow soon.
As a city we’ve been here before many times over. The cycle of shrinking council budgets and the impacts that has on the cultural and creative sector has been a repeating pattern since government-imposed austerity began the process of slashing local government finances almost a generation ago.
This is a cycle we must break else find ourselves continually locked into a system which offers neither security nor stability for your sector and leaves us all subject to politically motivated decisions on local government financing made in Westminster.
Whilst we appreciate the proposed phased reduction of funds for the Cultural Investment Programme is where the attention lies right now, it’s important to recognise the work happening at the same time to develop a more sustainable financial models that protect funds from political decision making, and the council investment that remains in place in the sector.
We have recently commissioned external experts to design a new model for cultural investment in Bristol. Some of you will have already engaged with this work as it has included research, stakeholder engagement, and analysis of alternative funding approaches.
Whilst this will be discussed at the December Strategy and Resources policy committee, what we can share right now is a proposal of utilising Community Infrastructure Levy funds and the creation of a new philanthropic Culture Fund, to create a funding pool that can replace direct council investment and sit independently of local political decision making.
We will also adopt a co-design process with the cultural sector and city partners to shape the Future Culture Fund’s purpose, priorities, and delivery model.
This inclusive approach ensures the fund reflects local needs and maximises impact. There’s a lot of work needed to further this approach but it’s effort we strongly feel is needed and want to undertake collaboratively.
We continue to invest in Bristol’s cultural infrastructure and creative economy through grants via our Openness and Imagination funding strands, significant capital investment in the transformation of Bristol Beacon, expansion of The Bottle Yard Studios, and improvements to Bristol Museum & Art Gallery and M Shed.
We support festivals and events, including Bristol Harbour Festival, alongside contributions to transport, high streets, housing and regeneration projects that enable cultural activation and placemaking.
We are also developing the emerging Cultural Strategy, which will set out a long-term vision for culture and integrate the new investment model.
Alongside this, we are prioritising strategic leadership in Creative Health, recognising the role of arts and culture in improving wellbeing and reducing health inequalities, while unlocking new investment in this area.
We are establishing a Bristol Music Fund through a democratically owned, community-led structure to provide long-term, independent investment in the city’s music sector.
We continue to leverage additional resources through international partnerships and Bristol’s status as a UNESCO City of Film, reinforcing the city’s position as a global cultural leader.
We share your passion for Bristol’s cultural life and remain committed to working with you to secure a sustainable future for investment in the sector.
Main photo: Mayfest
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