Context and rationale
Since 2010, the arts have been steadily squeezed out of UK schools. Sixty percent of teachers have not taken a class to a museum in the past year and 14% never have, with cost the main barrier. The gap is widest for children from lower socio-economic backgrounds outside London.
Geography compounds it. Deprived rural and coastal communities are simply too far from galleries and cultural institutions, while older and vulnerable adults in care settings face profound isolation.
Yet the evidence for what art can do keeps growing. Museum visits build cultural capital, confidence and a sense of belonging. Interactive artwork in hospitals reduces children’s anxiety. Creative sessions in care homes ease isolation and improve wellbeing for people living with dementia.
We exist to close that distance between people and the arts, bringing it to the people least likely to encounter it, and making sure participation is never determined by postcode, income or age.
