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About the voluntary arts What are the voluntary arts ?
The voluntary arts are those arts and crafts that people undertake for self-improvement, social networking and leisure, but not primarily for payment.
The range of artforms is wide and includes folk, dance, drama, literature, media, music, visual arts, crafts and applied arts, and festivals. Over half the UK adult population is involved in the voluntary arts and crafts. They play a vital role in promoting community cohesion and through their activities pump an estimated £50 million into the economy each year. Since the Second World War there has been an extraordinary expansion of the arts in Britain and the sector has become a major public policy issue. There is now a recognised belief that people of all ages, abilities and cultures, wherever they live, have a right to define, create and actively participate in the arts activities of their choice. This echoes the thrust of the department of National Heritage's document People Taking Part:
Celebrating our shared culture means not just admiring the achievements of professional actors, musicians and craftsmen, but having a go ourselves. Participation in the arts and crafts represents a key element in this country's cultural fabric, with well over 20 million adults (UK wide) being involved in pursuits of this kind. Many voluntary artists see their involvement mainly as a hobby but just as many are deeply committed to their work. Participating in artistic activity enables people of all backgrounds to grow in confidence, communicate well and release their potential in different fields. Their activities also pump many millions of pounds into the UK economy and play a vital role in promoting community cohesion. How many voluntary artists are there?
Research commissioned in 1991 by the Arts Council of Great Britain during the preparation of the National Arts and Media Strategy from RSGB revealed that 53 per cent of adults claimed to take an active part in some form of the arts and crafts, but not as a profession. It is worth noting that at that stage 1 per cent represented 450,000 adult participants.
Given that there are 20 million adults in the UK and 11 million voluntary arts groups varying between 6 to 150 members, each having 4 or 5 people actively involved in the groups as committee members, organisers, etc. there are roughly 10-15 million cultural volunteers.
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