Dan Jarvis: We must not take the arts for granted; it is vital that they survive and thrive

My great-grandfather used to say that there were more acres in Yorkshire than words in the Bible – but I never have worked out if this is true. I sometimes think that when people talk of it as a “county” they have missed out the “r”.

The arts flourish here. A marathon runner taking my office in Barnsley as their starting point, could run as far as the birth places of fists-full of world class artists, writers, performers, composers and inventors if they wished to do so. We have an alphabet of artistic talent in the region. “A” is for Ayckbourn, “B” for Bennett, “C” for Caedmon and so on and so forth. There is a heritage and an unfolding array of remarkable talent.

But wherever you live, I believe the arts are a vehicle for culture, expression, participation and for learning. The arts allows an audience to explore, partake and to witness. In different forms, from galleries to theatre, street art and festivals, museums and libraries – combined they an important but often misunderstood strand of our existence.

Quite often the arts are viewed as a given; taken for granted. It is assumed that our libraries will be stocked and open, museums there to explore, and galleries, free for us to stroll through. Not so. Their long term sustainability is under severe threat at present.

While focusing on the economy, unemployment, housing, the NHS, education and a European financial crisis, we often see culture come near the bottom of a long list of priorities. Ironic, since a lack of creative culture has probably contributed to a good number of our social ills.

But we should be aware that culture is entwined in virtually every area of policy and expression. The arts have an active role to play in all walks of life from the youth justice sector, education through to health.

Co-operation between local authorities, artists and venues continues to be an area of emerging importance. Bringing organisations and individuals together to encourage growth in a time of draconian cuts is a good way to address the gloom of austerity and counter the downward trend, while helping to regenerate our communities. The Hepworth gallery in Wakefield is a fine example of this.

So I believe that the arts are not just about participation and engagement, it’s also about the economy, jobs, healthcare, personal development, growth, regeneration and sustainability.

If a reduction in expenditure without proper consideration in times of austerity continues to be focused on the creative sector, ultimately the nation and our county will be much the poorer for it.

The reality is that local authorities who help fund arts organisations have suffered substantial cuts. Yorkshire Forward – though not perfect – helped secure and distribute vital funding. It has been axed and a bizarre cap on the tax relief for philanthropic donations will see some arts-based organisations struggle to survive.

Additionally, the highly successful Welcome to Yorkshire tourist organisation, which promotes our county across the world, helping to attract millions of tourists to our artistic venues, has had its budget slashed in an act of senseless and short-sighted sabotage by the Government.

Ensuring the arts are allowed to thrive in all our towns and communities, should be a priority. In the current economic climate the first reaction has been to cut and run – now more than ever we need to consider whose fault it really is for the cuts and what it is exactly we are cutting.

Throughout the last decade, more than 75 per cent of us attended arts events. An even higher proportion – 86 per cent – participated in arts activity wit h over 78 per cent believing that arts plays a vital role in our life.

The cultural industry has proven that it can be a driver for economic regeneration and for wider business and tourist sector opportunities across the region and it is ready to do so again.

We shouldn’t forget that Yorkshire is the place that provides Last of the Summer Wine country, Brontëland and the amazing Yorkshire Sculpture Park – all of them are under attack as a Government with conservative principles cuts back on culture and the arts as it slashes at Local Government.

Culture and the arts still matter in Yorkshire. It is right to invest public money as there are sound economic and social reasons for doing that. With a double dip recession and £71m cut from public funding to Arts Council England, this is deeply worrying as an effect on the long-term sustainability of our arts sector.

But I’m confident that the in-built resilience of those who support the arts can continue to move forward because of the strength that resides in individual artists and communities. Years of investment and nurturing have and will continue to produce remarkable fruit.