In 2021, the UK’s leading contemporary visual arts institutions and art schools came together to oppose government cuts to arts education and the devaluing of subjects.

In May 2021, government proposals outlined that courses in price group C1 – music, dance, drama and performing arts, art and design and media studies – were not among its strategic priorities and would be subject to funding reductions. 

The proposed reduction of £121.40 per student represents a 50% funding cut in the subsidy for these specialist subjects which are expensive to teach. Representatives of the visual arts sector strongly disagreed with this proposal and, along with the London Art School Alliance, also opposed the removal of the London weighting allowance.

An open letter to Gavin Williamson, the former Secretary of State for Education, which was facilitated by CVAN and the Visual Arts Alliance, gained more than 300 signatories, demonstrating widespread opposition to the proposed cuts. You can read the open letter here.

Despite this opposition, in July 2021 the Office for Students (OfS) confirmed the proposed changes to the distribution of funds to universities and colleges for 2021-22. 

In total, the OfS will distribute £1.4 billion to universities and colleges. The Department for Education confirmed that “high-cost subjects not related to medicine or healthcare, STEM, or those supporting specific labour market needs, will be subject to reductions in funding from next year.”

It was also announced that the level of grants awarded to universities and colleges will not be based on their geographic location, meaning the removal of subsidies for universities and colleges operating in London.

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“What it means for the arts sector is that the government is devaluing a critical industry. The decision is a short-sighted economic one, based on Treasury pressure on student loans. The creative industries will lose talent as courses will be reduced nationally, making them a lot more competitive, which means that hidden talent – marginalised people – will be overlooked. Artists and the creative sector at large contribute to society in so many different ways and, most importantly, are part of the nation’s cultural, mental, and social well-being. This decision is so short-sighted if you consider the government’s purported commitment to the arts. Boris Johnson was the first Prime Minister in a long time to talk about our value when he became the PM. What is his position now? Government need to find an economic solution to empower the future education choices of the next generation rather than continuing to eradicate arts throughout the education system, which has systematically happened from primary now to HE.” Paula Orrell, National Director, CVAN
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