Culture, participation, and the promise of Devolution

In June, the Government launched its Arts, Culture and Creative Industries Sector Plan, setting out a bold vision to grow the UK’s creative economy and ensure that creative opportunities are more widely accessible across the country. With ambitions to nearly double investment in the sector by 2035 and support creative clusters beyond London, the plan promised a more inclusive and dynamic cultural landscape. Though some progress has been made, what more can be done?

Last month, the Government unveiled the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill, signalling a growing shift of power from central government to local leaders. The details of how this will translate into meaningful cultural participation for everyday citizens across the country are not yet clear.

Community power isn’t just about where decisions are made; it’s about how they’re made, and who gets to be part of them. Although the recent bill marks a step forward, there is still a risk that decisions about public arts funding and cultural priorities will simply move from centralised institutions to local elites without truly engaging the communities they are meant to serve. 

To build real trust and resilience in communities, handing greater authority to local leaders is one step.  We need deeper participation where citizens are not just consulted but actively involved in shaping priorities. 

That’s where the Citizens’ Assembly model comes in. 

When diverse voices come together to learn, deliberate and decide, it leads to decisions that are more legitimate, more inclusive, and more connected to the lived experience of local people. As a citizen-led cultural initiative, culture must be seen as integral to this vision, not a peripheral policy area, but a vital space where communities make meaning, build identity, and imagine new futures. 

Cultural democracy and political democracy go hand in hand. When people are involved in shaping their cultural lives, and when culture is valued as a public good, communities thrive. 

We’re continuing to work with artists, organisations and civic thinkers to ask: 

• What does culture-led devolution look like? 

• How can we embed participation through citizens’ assemblies, co-design, and creative consultation into the democratic fabric of local governance? 

• How do we ensure that investment reaches places and people too often overlooked? 

The Devolution Bill offers a moment of possibility. Let’s not stop at power passed down, let’s build power from the ground up.