Open Eye Gallery supports Write To Your MP campaign from Contemporary Visual Arts Network, who lead a collective agenda for policy change across the visual arts. Originally published at cvan.art.
As the Government prepares its ten-year national renewal and growth plan, we must ensure the visual arts are not left behind. Now is the time for UK artists, curators, directors, educators, and cultural leaders to take action.
We’re calling on everyone working in the visual arts to write to their MP today and urge them to champion our sector in the forthcoming Comprehensive Spending Review. This is a critical moment—big decisions are being made that will shape public investment, livelihoods, and the future of our sector for years to come.
Support the campaign? Click here to email your MP
The report Framing the Future: The Political Case for Strengthening the Visual Arts Ecosystem, launched in Parliament with the support of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Visual Arts & Artists, powerfully advocates protecting and investing in our sector. The visual arts generated £4.1 billion in exports in 2024 and play a vital role in education, regional regeneration, and public well-being.
But we are at a tipping point:
- Grant-in-Aid has declined, putting public visual arts infrastructure at risk
- Opportunities for creative education are shrinking
- Artists and organisations are facing deepening financial insecurity
- Local studios and grassroots spaces are struggling to survive
That’s why it’s essential to protect Grant-in-Aid—the foundation of public funding for the arts. Without it, our national cultural infrastructure, galleries, and artist development pathways cannot be sustained.
The visual arts are also powerful for community development, social cohesion, and meaningful regeneration. From transforming high streets and empty buildings to enabling dialogue and civic participation, artists play a critical role in creating places people are proud to live in and contribute to.
We are part of Rachael Reeves’ strategy for growth. The visual arts are not a side issue—they are a proven driver of economic value, innovation, international reputation, and community transformation. Now, we must ensure that the message is heard at the heart of Government.
Ask your MP to support the visual arts and contact Ministers, urging them to adopt the report’s four key recommendations:
- A UK Cultural Investment Partnership Fund to support at-risk organisations
- A £5m Grassroots Visual Arts Fund for studios and artist-led spaces
- £8.4m annually for National Saturday Clubs to expand creative access
- Restoration of Specialist Subject Funding in Higher Education
We also urge MPs to:
- Oppose cuts to disability benefits that threaten the participation of Disabled artists
- Protect copyright in the age of AI, ensuring fair pay and ethical innovation
Act now. Write to your MP today.
Together, we can make sure the visual arts are recognised, protected, and invested in as a vital part of the UK’s cultural, social, and economic future.