A discussion document prepared for the Arts Council England outlining proposals for a new rural arts strategy as part of a coordinated arts and cultural sector response to the Government’s new Rural Strategy
Although this report focuses on rural and agricultural issues, its also mentions the need for an arts and cultural sector strategy in response to the plight of the fisheries communities and fishing industry. These too would benefit from new research and, eventually, their own separately constituted arts and cultural investment programme. It also points up the urgent need for the arts community to also begin to address some of the overarching issues and problems relating to global sustainability and climatic change, as being equally important priorities in term s of guiding future arts policy and related research work. In this context the proposals presented in this report for a new Rural Arts Strategy, are really only the first modest steps towards what is likely to become an important new area of critical discourse and policy research within the arts and cultural sector; i.e. towards the formulation of a national Arts and Sustainability initiative. This might be something that the Arts Council could pursue further with the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, and the Commission for Rural Communities.