Culture
Culture belongs to the people who make it
Funding decisions should start with artists and audiences, not with buildings and brands.
A band performs live music outdoors at night.
Photograph: Unsplash
When culture budgets are cut, the first casualties are rarely the large institutions. They are the small rooms, the community choirs and the artists working second jobs to keep making work.
The argument
Culture gives places their character. When spaces for creativity disappear, they are very hard to bring back.
This is not a call to slow everything down. It is a call to be honest about who is affected, to show our reasoning and to leave room for people who see it differently.
What comes next
Our culture desk will keep reporting from the places where new work begins.
“Culture belongs to the people who make it.”
About the writer
Sofia Laurent
Sofia writes about music, film, books and the creative communities that give places their character.
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