Only half of children in England visited a museum or theatre during the past year, while three-quarters have not attended an art gallery, according to a recent survey published by Arts Council England (Ace). The data offers a detailed look into young people's cultural engagement and highlights barriers such as cost and accessibility.
The Creative Young Lives survey, the first of its kind from Ace, revealed that 52% of young people had been to a museum, 49% to the theatre or a show, 26% to an art gallery or exhibition, and just 22% to a music event within the previous year. Despite limited participation, 74% of children reported that being creative was important to them, and 60% expressed a strong desire to engage in more cultural activities.
Cost emerged as a significant obstacle, with 32% of respondents citing it as a reason for less frequent visits, and 55% indicating that making cultural activities more affordable would encourage greater involvement. The survey was described by Ace as providing robust and granular data, surpassing previous studies in scale and detail.
Dawn Airey, appointed chair of Arts Council England seven weeks ago, characterized the findings as “shocking” but also presented them as opportunities to enrich children's lives through arts exposure. Airey emphasized the importance of accessibility, noting that while great art exists, it is of little value if families cannot experience it. She recalled cultural trips during her school years as a standard part of education and suggested that access to arts and culture should be regarded almost as a human right.
In a recent visit to Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria—a town described as among the most isolated in England—Airey observed firsthand the benefits of accessibility to the arts at Dowdales School in Dalton-in-Furness. The school’s headteacher, Emma Aubrey, has prioritized arts education, maintaining weekly lessons in drama, dance, and music for all children in key stage 3, despite national trends toward marginalizing creative subjects. Aubrey highlighted efforts to forge connections with prominent arts organizations such as the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra.
Students at Dowdales rehearsing Shakespeare’s "Romeo and Juliet" reflected on their town centre’s challenges, describing it as “rough,” “run down,” and lacking opportunities—a sentiment that underscores the broader difficulties many English towns face. Aubrey framed arts education as a means to expand horizons for young people in isolated communities and to instill confidence and creativity.
Arts Council England distributes over £650 million annually in public and lottery funds to support arts organizations and individual artists. Airey acknowledged recent challenges, including a controversial review by former Labour minister Margaret Hodge that criticized Ace’s complex application processes, and a technical failure in the Council’s grant-processing platform, Grantium, which disrupted funding last year.
Looking ahead, Ace plans to release simpler guidance for the upcoming national portfolio funding round and aims to restore a more dynamic and open organizational culture. Airey expressed a desire to reinvigorate the Arts Council’s presence and influence, moving away from a process-driven approach to one characterized by confidence, energy, and engagement with the arts community and the public.