APPG Visual Arts and Artists calls for investment in the Visual Arts Ecosystem

APPG members and supporters pictured during the launch of ‘Framing the Future: The Case for Strengthening the Visual Arts Ecosystem’, at the House of Commons.
(L-R: the Earl of Clancarty, Paula Orrell, Director CVAN, Lord Freyberg, Ruth Cadbury MP, Artist Exodus Crooks, Cat Eccles MP, Artists Larry Achiampong, Sutapa Biswas and Charlotte Warne Thomas, and Eva Langret, Director of Frieze London.) Photo credit: Matt Crossick/DACS.

A major new report, Framing the Future: The Political Case for Strengthening the Visual Arts Ecosystem, has been launched at the House of Commons.

Backed by the APPG for Visual Arts & Artists, the report is published ahead of the UK Government’s multi-year Spending Review and sets out four key recommendations to safeguard the future of the UK’s visual arts and its artists, whilst highlighting the three ways in which the visual arts can support the government in delivering its core missions.

Commissioned by CVAN Contemporary Visual Arts Network and John Hansard Gallery, part of the University of Southampton, in collaboration with a-n The Artists Information Company, DACS and Plus Tate, this sector-wide report developed and written by Erksine Analysis puts forward the economic, cultural and social case for strategic investment in the visual arts.

In 2023, the UK visual arts sector exported £4.1 billion, more than the UK’s total exports to countries like Greece and Portugal. The UK is also home to 12 of the world’s 100 most visited museums and galleries, as well as two of the world’s top-ranked Art and Design universities: the Royal College of Art and University of the Arts London. Iconic institutions such as Turner Contemporary in Margate and V&A Dundee have played vital roles in local economic regeneration.

Despite these strengths, the sector is under strain. Exports are down £1.7 billion since 2018, and organisations and artists face mounting challenges that threaten stability and growth. These include the implications of trade restrictions post-Brexit, the challenges posed by emerging technologies like AI, limited support for artists and freelancers, and the increasingly precarious state of critical infrastructure such as studios and regional visual arts galleries across England.

Nevertheless, the UK remains a global powerhouse in the art market, second only to the United States and China, with 2022 sales reaching $10.9bn (£8.6bn). That economic success has been fuelled by a long history of painting, sculpture, drawing and printmaking, bolstered by museums, galleries, higher education institutions and—most importantly—individual artists. Some of the most successful British living artists include Damien Hirst, Tracey Emin, David Hockney, Peter Doig and Jenny Saville.

Published today, Framing the Future: The Political Case for Strengthening the Visual Arts Ecosystem outlines a comprehensive roadmap for how the UK Government can invest in and sustain the country’s visual arts sector – supporting the UK’s industrial strategy on trade and exports, and building on the sector’s £4.1 billion contribution in 2023.

"The APPG for Visual Arts & Artists have endorsed this critical report and asks the UK Government to heed the recommendations made to help secure the future of the UK’s visual arts and artists.”

Cat Eccles MP

Chair, APPG Visual Arts and Artists

Key recommendations from the report for the UK Spending Review are:

Establish a UK Cultural Investment Partnership Fund – A new centrally administered fund offering emergency support, business innovation funding, and matched capital investment.
Create a £5 Million Grassroots Visual Arts Fund – Direct support for small galleries, studios and artist-led spaces, mirroring the successful Grassroots Music Fund.
Expand Access to Creative Education In and Out of School – Invest £8.4 million annually to scale up the National Saturday Club network, providing free creative education to over 54,000 young people, particularly in underserved areas.
Restore Specialist Subject Funding in Higher Education – Reverse 2021 cuts to secure the future of high-quality creative courses vital to the UK’s visual arts workforce.

“This report gives the government the tools it needs to provide vital support for artists and the visual arts sector. We have a wealth of hugely talented artists in the UK, but that talent can’t survive in isolation. If you give artists the support they need, they will thrive. If you don’t, only the privileged will be able to become artists, and our culture will suffer as a result.”

Dame Tracey Emin DBE

Artist

APPG members and supporters pictured during the launch of ‘Framing the Future: The Case for Strengthening the Visual Arts Ecosystem’, at the House of Commons L-R: the Earl of Clancarty, Paula Orrell, Director CVAN, Lord Freyberg, Ruth Cadbury MP, Artist Exodus Crooks, Cat Eccles MP, Artists Larry Achiampong, Sutapa Biswas and Charlotte Warne Thomas, and Eva Langret, Director of Frieze London. Photo credit: Matt Crossick/DACS.

(l-r) Ruth Cadbury MP, Nicholas Trench, Earl of Clancarty and Lord Freyberg pictured during the launch of ‘Framing the Future: The Case for Strengthening the Visual Arts Ecosystem’, at the House of Commons in London. HANDOUT PHOTO. FREE EDITORIAL USE. Photo credit: Matt Crossick/DACS. The report, by leading visual arts organisations, includes recommendations aimed at safeguarding the UK’s arts and artists ahead of the goverment’s spending review.

Eva Langret of Frieze pictured during the launch of ‘Framing the Future: The Case for Strengthening the Visual Arts Ecosystem’, at the House of Commons in London. HANDOUT PHOTO. FREE EDITORIAL USE. Photo credit: Matt Crossick/DACS. The report, by leading visual arts organisations, includes recommendations aimed at safeguarding the UK’s arts and artists ahead of the goverment’s spending review.

APPG Visual Arts and Artists – April 2025 Meeting

The All Party Parliamentary Group for Visual Arts and Artists held a meeting on Tuesday 1st April – its second meeting of 2025. APPG members were joined by Eliza Easton from the think-tank Erskine Analysis, who outlined upcoming research into the economic case for strengthening investment in the visual arts sector.

The group then heard from Lanre Bakare, Arts Correspondent at the Guardian, who presented the Guardian’s research into barriers facing those from working class backgrounds from entering into both creative and non-creative roles within the wider arts sector.

You can read more about Lanre’ research in the Guardian.

APPG members in attendance were:

Cat Eccles MP (Labour, Stourbridge)
The Earl of Clancarty (Crossbench Peer)
Lord Bassam (Labour Peer)
Lord Freyberg (Crossbench Peer)
Lord Hampton (Crossbench Peer)

APPG Visual Arts and Artists – January 2025 Meeting

The All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Visual Arts and Artists held its first meeting of 2025 on Tuesday 21 January, where the recently published Artists’ Earnings and Contracts Report was discussed in depth.

Parliamentarians in attendance were:

Polly Billington MP (Labour, East Thanet)
Ruth Cadbury MP (Labour, Brentford and Isleworth)
The Earl of Clancarty (Crossbench Peer)
Cat Eccles MP (Labour, Stourbridge)
Lord Freyberg (Crossbench Peer)
Lord Hampton (Crossbench Peer) and
Lord Inglewood (Crossbench Peer).

The group were joined by Dr. Amy Thomas, and Dr. Arthur Ehlinger, lead researchers on the project, who highlighted the key findings from the report.

Key findings show:

The median income for visual artists is £12,500 a year, a 47% decrease since 2010
Significant disparities in pay across demographics, with women and other genders earning 40% less than men and disabled artists earning a median of just £3,750
Over 80% of artists describe their earnings are ‘unstable’ or ‘very unstable’

Read: Minutes of the APPG January 2025 Meeting

APPG for Visual Arts and Artists – Inaugural Meeting

On Tuesday 8 October, the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Visual Arts and Artists held its Inaugural Meeting.

We’re delighted to announce the group’s Chair and Officers:

Chair:
Cat Eccles MP (Labour, Stourbridge)

Officers:
Manuela Perteghella MP (Liberal Democrat, Stratford-upon-Avon)
The Earl of Clancarty (Crossbench)
Lord Vaizey of Didcot (Conservative)

The APPG has been convened to advance the understanding of the visual arts sector within government, and of how visual artists carry out their practice and develop their careers.

Secretariat support will continue to be provided by DACS, a-n and CVAN.

Image: Members of the APPG for Visual Arts and Artists: Lord Freyberg, Lord Bird, Baroness Rebuck, Lord Hampton, the Earl of Clancarty, Cat Eccles MP, Lord Parkinson.

APPG for Visual Arts discusses challenges faced by freelance visual artists

The All-Party Parliamentary Group for Visual Arts held its first meeting of 2024 on Wednesday 7th February, focused on the challenges faced by freelance visual artists. The group discussed the working conditions of visual artists, and the precarity, low pay and unpaid labour which is endemic across the sector and heard from artist Charlotte Warne Thomas on these issues, and the support that a Freelancer Commissioner would bring.

A set of minute s from the meeting will be published soon.

APPG Visual Arts Briefing – House of Lords Debate Communications and Digital Committee inquiry

In July 2023, The House of Lords Communications and Digital Committee held a debate following the publication of their inquiry into the risks facing creative industries, which DACS submitted evidence to in September 2022.

DACS has drawn on the expertise of leading artists, gallerists, and change-makers in the visual arts to outline how creative practices are changing, how new and diverse audiences are being reached and what skills artists require to maximise these exciting new opportunities and has provided a set of recommendations to support creative industries.

Summary of recommendations

Intellectual Property Rights and AI: Artists rely on copyright royalties to support their practice, and it is essential that AI companies who are using artists’ work fairly reward them. The IP framework should not be eroded and no new exceptions to copyright are needed.
Implementation of the Smart Fund: Implement the Smart Fund or a similar scheme to ensure artists are compensated fairly when their work is reproduced and shared digitally. As one artist argued, “Fair remuneration isn’t a privilege, it’s a right.”
Digital Skills Development: Increase investment in digital skills training, including funding for artist residency programmes, to equip artists with the skills to navigate the digital landscape. As one artist stated, “Our industry’s future depends on our ability to master these new tools.”

DACS, as a member of the Secretariat for the APPG for Visual Arts, submitted a full briefing, which can be found here.

APPG Visual Arts – Creative Freelance Commissioner Briefing

Earlier this year on 15^th June, The Earl of Clancarty, an officer of the APPG for Visual Arts, tabled a short debate in the House of Lords on Arts and creative industries: Freelancers and self-employed workers.

Earl Clancarty asked His Majesty’s Government ‘What support they intend to give to freelancers and other self-employed workers in the arts and creative industries; and what assessment they have made of the case for a Commissioner for freelancers.’

The Visual Arts organisations a-n, CVAN and DACS are collectively calling for a Creative Freelance Commissioner to help the Government understand the challenges faced by UK’s freelance workforce. The All- Party Parliamentary Group for Visual Arts has also discussed the need for a Creative Freelance Commissioner and the benefits this would bring to artists and the wider workforce.

The Group shared a briefing with Earl Clancarty and other Peers in the House of Lords ahead of the debate, which is available to read here.

APPG for Visual Arts holds its AGM

On Tuesday 23rd May 2023, the All Party Parliamentary Group for Visual Arts convened for its inaugural AGM, where the appointment of Theo Clarke MP as Chair was confirmed, along with officers of the group and key priorities.

Theo Clarke brings a wealth of experience in the visual arts, having worked at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), New York and Christie’s auction house. She is a co-founder of The Association of Women in the Arts, and studied Art History at Newcastle University and the Courtauld Institute of Art.

On appointment as Chair of the APPG for Visual Arts, Theo Clarke MP said:

“The visual arts enrich the lives of all in the UK and play a vital role in our thriving creative economy, from internationally renowned art fairs to grassroots community projects that inspire the next generation of artists and creatives. At the same time, the sector faces unique challenges around fair pay, career pathways, access to education and safeguarding copyright. The APPG for Visual Arts has been established to ensure that artists, and the wider visual arts sector, have a voice in parliament. The officers of the APPG for Visual Arts look forward to working with both industry and parliamentary colleagues to foster an environment in the UK in which visual artists can flourish.”

The All Party Parliamentary Group for the Visual Arts has been established to provide a forum for parliamentarians to foster a deeper understanding of the issues and challenges faced by UK visual artists.

The APPG’s statement of purpose is to:

Advance the understanding of how visual artists carry out their practice and develop their careers;
Ensure fair pay for visual artists and safeguard their intellectual property rights;
Recognise the value artists bring to society and the UK economy, and ensure their artistic contributions are rewarded;
Foster an environment in the UK in which visual artists can flourish.

Full list of Officers of the APPG for Visual Arts:

Chair: Theo Clarke MP (Con, Stafford)

Vice Chair: Sir Roger Gale MP (Con, North Thanet)

Vice Chair: The Earl of Clancarty

Vice Chair: Lord Inglewood

Vice Chair: Giles Watling MP (Con, Clacton)

Vice Chair: Jamie Stone MP (Lib Dem, Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross)

Vice Chair: Damian Collins MP (Con, Folkestone and Hythe)

Officer: Simon Baynes MP (Con, Clwyd South)

Officer: Kim Johnson MP (Lab, Liverpool, Riverside)

Officer: Julie Elliott MP (Lab, Sunderland Central)

UK Parliament debates support for UK artists and culture through innovative funding schemes

Parliamentarians gathered to debate ways of ‘supporting UK artists and culture’ in a Westminster Hall debate secured by former Minister for Culture and Digital, Caroline Dinenage.

More than 2.1m people work in the cultural and creative industries, which contribute an annual £116bn to the UK economy. This acts as an important driver to a sizeable part of the UK economy and comes with huge international prestige. It gives millions of people across the country pleasure every single day with the wide range of things to view and become involved with, bringing together both local communities and our four nations. But too many governments have overlooked the vital role of the people – the creators and performers – who underpin this success story. 

Results from a recent YouGov survey ‘Accessing and valuing cultural content’ show strong public support for new ways to pay creators and performers who make the cultural works we enjoy and love. Sixty-seven percent of respondents think the government should be open to new initiatives to support creators and performers. In Tuesday’s debate, parliamentarians heard about the impact of the arts and culture to regions, supporting placemaking, sense of pride and boosting local economies. They also heard how schemes already in place throughout the world, but not in the UK, bring equitable payment for creators and performers whilst injecting much-needed funding into communities through cultural projects.   

Caroline Dinenage MP, said:
“As former Culture Minister, I am deeply concerned at the number of low-paid freelancers who struggled to make ends meet, particularly through the pandemic. As the UK rebuilds, and we seek to cement the UKs international reputation for our creative economy, it is time that government looks at workable, sustainable opportunities already in place in Europe and the rest of the world, that the UK could feasibly replicate to ensure our country remains at the forefront of the global creative economy.” 

The Westminster Hall debate “Supporting UK artists and culture” occurred on Tuesday 22nd November between 16:30-17:30 and can be viewed live online here. 

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