Research in UK and French Creative Industries

Join our panel as we ask: where next for the Creative Industries and our next generation of Artists and Creative professionals?

A few weeks after the announcement that the UK Government are planning a 50% cut to the higher education arts budget, in favour of so called high-value subjects, Emmanuel Macron launched a policy, Pass Culture, wherein the government allocates about £260 to each 18-year-old to spend on music, film, books, instruments or even video games.

In addition, the France Relance (or ‘relaunch’) fund apportioned €2 billion over two years to culture recovery in the wake of the pandemic, and the Creative Europe fund almost doubled its budget to €2.4 billion over six years, in order to invest in actions that reinforce cultural diversity and respond to the needs of the cultural and creative sectors.

In a recent speech, the UK Chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, noted that the cultural industries had grown at twice the rate of the rest of the UK’s economy over the last decade. Yet, since 2010, enrolment in arts GCSEs in the UK has fallen by 40% and the number of arts teachers has decreased by 23%. This shift is most pronounced among state schools in deprived areas, where pupils are far less likely to sing in a choir or play in an orchestra.

Considering these developments, what can these countries learn from each other?

Participants from France and the UK will discuss their experiences of cultural regeneration. We learn more about the University of PSL (Paris Sciences et Lettres) programme on art and sciences SACRe, and The University of Avignon’s new The Villa Créative, a hybrid site for training, creation, innovation, experimentation and research. This unique place for meetings, sharing and collaboration will bring together the worlds of academia, research and entrepreneurship. We will also hear about projects in York, a UNESCO City of Media Arts.

Our panellists will explore examples of best practice and new approaches to research, creation and innovation, both in France and in the UK, asking: where are the areas for growth and opportunity, both internationally and closer to home?

This event is part of the Festival Focus Between Continents and Cultures.

Presented in collaboration with The French Embassy in the UK.

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