The Arts Dividend: Why Investment in Culture Pays

by Darren Henley

The Arts Dividend looks in depth at seven key benefits that art and culture bring to our lives: encouraging our nation’s creativity; advancing education; impacting positively on health and wellbeing; supporting innovation and technology; providing defining characteristics to villages, towns and cities; contributing to economic prosperity; and enhancing England’s reputation for cultural excellence on the global stage.

This book encourages us to consider our country’s innate creativity and the invaluable rewards to be gained from the public investment that enables great art and culture to be a part of everyone’s lives, no matter who they are or where they live.

Having spent a year travelling the length and breadth of England, Darren Henley shares his reflections on our remarkable national arts and culture landscape from Cumbria to Kent and from Cornwall to Northumberland.

192 pages, Paperback

Published June 30, 2016

About the author

Darren Henley OBE is chief executive of Arts Council England. His two independent government reviews into music and cultural education resulted in England's first National Plan for Music Education, new networks of Music Education Hubs, Cultural Education Partnerships and Heritage Schools, the Museums and Schools programme, the BFI Film Academy and the National Youth Dance Company. Before joining the Arts Council, he led Classic FM for fifteen years. He holds degrees in politics from the University of Hull, in management from the University of South Wales and in history of art from the University of Buckingham. A recipient of the British Academy President's Medal for his contributions to music education, music research and the arts, his books include The Virtuous Circle: Why Creativity and Cultural Education Count and The Arts Dividend: Why Investment in Culture Pays.

Reviews

[Millie · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 or 3.5, really enjoyed the anecdotes and examples weaved throughout the narrative adding plenty of UK destinations to my list to visit! Enjoyed the structure and arguments although at times (and perhaps understandably) the book strays from the argument of how art / culture investment enriches lives to showcasing the work of the Arts Council. The way Darren Henley has updated the book is really effective however, rather than just adding a chapter to a revised edition he’s altered the narrative throughout which really brings the narrative of the book up to date - which I particularly enjoyed. Overall would recommend the book to anyone who is contemplating the role that arts and culture can / should play in the lives of people and the fabric of towns up and down the country.

[David Cutler · Rating 4 out of 5]

A confession that I did look in the index and saw my good self obligingly referred to, but I think I would have enjoyed it anyway. This is a very enjoyable and indeed inspiring canter through the arts across England in the last ten years, from the smallest villages to world famous companies. Given his job (and personality) don't expect sharp critiques from Henley about the arts or about policy but you will see how vital they remain despite the incredible pressures they are under, in part due to his work at ACE. I am not so sure about his categorisations of the arts dividends which seem to me a little overlapping but recommended nonetheless.

[Drew M Francis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Entertaining read for a book about arts investment! I enjoyed reading it and learned some key issues about arts funding and success.

[Chanelle Windas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good to reflect on! - quite sweeping in parts