rewild /riːˈwʌɪld/: to restore to its natural uncultivated state

For some time, the way that the arts are funded has looked shaky. Many people think that the models of funding and patronage have embedded inequality in the arts: it's harder to progress in the arts if you are, for example, Working Class or Black or Neurodivergent.

Yet the arts are a huge UK industry, providing employment for tens of thousands; and they're enjoyed by everyone. The arts are the television you watch, the computer games you play, the music you listen to, the town carnival you march in, the dance class you take your child to, the pottery class you've signed up for.

So the arts offer not just employment and a huge economic impact, but add meaning and enjoyment to our lives.

Many industries are supported by the government. The car factory, steel works, railways, fishing industry, and renewable energy all get government subsidy. So the fact that the government subsidises the arts isn't exceptional.

What we want, is a fairer and more effective way for the arts to be supported, so that the diversity of our population is reflected in the people making the arts. We want more people to be able to set out on a career in the arts, and for support to be there whenever people need it to progress their careers. We want that support to be there, across the country, and for funders to understand the local distinctiveness of the arts.

Our network is made up of people who have been discussing these issues for years, and each of them is contributing a small provocation, an imagined better future. These are ideas whose time has come.

Now's the time to ReWILD The Arts

Want to get involved? Here's who we are. Get in touch with any of us to talk further.