Statement on Suffolk County Council Arts Budget Cut by Woodbridge Festival of Art and Music

Like many organisations Woodbridge Festival has been alarmed to hear about the proposed cut of Suffolk County Council's arts budget and the negative message and impact this cut will have.

Apart from the wider economic, health and social benefits of music and the arts, The Post Office Horizon scandal has amply demonstrated the capability of arts and culture to do good in society. Journalists, politicians and tireless activists had been campaigning for decades for justice for the wrongly accused post office masters. But it is the arts, in the form of a televised drama, that is hopefully bringing this episode of miscarriage of justice and bullying to an end. And it is not the first time the arts have done this - Cathy Come Home, Live Aid and Picasso's Guernica being further examples of art engaging public empathy in ways that raw reporting does not reach. In times of strife, art can transform the truly terrible into a social good. This is something society downplays at its peril.

All of this is in addition to proven economic, social, health, creative and cultural benefits of the arts and creative industries. If we just concentrate on music, it has been calculated by Music Venues Trust that every £10 spent on a music ticket generates £17 in the local economy. Suffolk benefits from over half a million music tourists and music contributes £1.3 billion to the national economy. Research has shown that people who regularly attend music events are healthier and live ten years longer. The European Union has recognised music and the arts are core educational strands for creating a resilient and creative work force. The EU has also recognised the role music festivals play in promoting social cohesion in times of challenging social division. Meanwhile research into health and well being has been continuously unearthing the benefits of music and the arts for our health in multiple areas.

These are just some of the areas where the arts are being seen as more than an indication of a civilised society. The arts are increasingly being seen as a core component to prosperity.

At a local level. Woodbridge Festival was established to promote international and local art and creativity in our area of Suffolk. We are aware of the benefits this brings our area educationally and socially, and the wider health and wellness benefits. Over the 12 years we have existed we've seen art, music and creativity thrive in our community, a rise in diversity in audiences and participants, more visitors and greater local opportunities.

We would ask Suffolk County Council to reconsider the proposed arts budget cut. And we would also ask the Council to go further and use this as an opportunity to consider how Suffolk can promote the economic, social, health, cohesion, creative and cultural benefits of the arts.

From Woodbridge Festival of Art and Music.