Chris Bond: Why art and culture can't just be measured in pounds and pennies

WE have, in recent weeks, seen just how important culture in all its radiant and manifest forms is to our lives.
Yorkshire Sculpture Park is one of our star attractions.Yorkshire Sculpture Park is one of our star attractions.
Yorkshire Sculpture Park is one of our star attractions.

In Haworth, spiritual (and actual) home of the Brontes, book lovers queued outside the Brontë Parsonage Museum to join in the celebrations marking the bicentenary of the birth of Charlotte Brontë.

Hundreds of people, including some who had travelled from as far away as California and South Korea, made the pilgrimage to the West Yorkshire village, such was their bond with this remarkable literary family.

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Just a few days later it was the Bard’s turn in the spotlight. The BBC marked the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death with a star-studded gala that included performances from such luminaries as Dame Judi Dench, David Tennant and Sir Ian McKellen.

What made it all the more impressive was the fact it was beamed out live on BBC Two from the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon, the playwright’s birthplace.

I was thinking about this yesterday as Government ministers announced details of its long-awaited White Paper on the BBC charter. The reforms will change the way the corporation is run, which many people welcome.

Listening to the Culture Secretary John Whittingdale address the House of Commons I was struck by the fact that each week the BBC reaches 97 per cent of the UK population and 348 million people worldwide.

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These are impressive statistics and the economic value of arts and culture is staggering, which even the Government recognises. In his Autumn Statement, the Chancellor George Osborne made a point of saying that £1bn a year in arts grants adds £250bn to the economy.

You can, of course, stick a pecuniary value on culture and reduce it to its bare sum. But it’s worth far more than that. Here in Yorkshire we are blessed to have such a bounty of cultural riches on our doorstep, not least Yorkshire Sculpture Park where my wife and I visited last week. I hadn’t been since last year and was quickly reminded just what a wonderful place it is.

For the price of a couple of hours car parking (plus a voluntary donation) we were able to amble around the park in the hazy spring sunshine and enjoy the works of among others Antony Gormley, Joan Miro and Kaws.

We left feeling exhilarated and happy which is what all good art can do, it has the capacity to make us feel better human beings. And you can’t put a price on that.

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