Arts and Cultural Policy

Arts and cultural policy encompasses the strategies, regulations and instruments through which public authorities and institutions shape the production, distribution and consumption of creative and heritage assets. It spans funding schemes and tax incentives for artists and cultural organisations, regulatory frameworks for copyright and broadcasting, and strategic planning for museums, performing arts venues and digital platforms. At its core, cultural policy seeks to foster social cohesion, economic vitality and individual wellbeing by supporting artistic innovation, safeguarding heritage and promoting inclusive access. Practitioners balance competing objectives—such as market development and cultural diversity, local distinctiveness and global engagement—while responding to technological shifts, demographic change and fiscal pressures. Cross-sectoral collaborations with education, tourism and urban regeneration initiatives further expand the remit of cultural policy, positioning the arts as both an engine of creative economies and a vehicle for democratic participation, intercultural dialogue and soft power projection.

Research from Nature Portfolio

Emerging work has reframed culture as a foundational element of a Wellbeing Economy rather than a by-product of growth-oriented models. This perspective challenges neoliberal assumptions that value arts solely for their tradeable capital, arguing instead that cultural flourishing underpins social transformation by generating shared narratives, communal spaces and collective agency. New frameworks propose embedding non-commodified support for the arts within alternative economic paradigms—such as Doughnut Economics and foundational economies—to safeguard culture’s autonomy and amplify its role in addressing intersecting crises of inequality, ecological degradation and social dislocation.

Arts and Cultural Policy publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in arts and cultural policy across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Cultural policy: The set of principles, regulations and actions by public bodies to support, regulate and evaluate artistic and heritage activities.

Wellbeing Economy: An economic framework prioritising human and ecological wellbeing above traditional growth metrics.

Austerity measures: Government actions aimed at reducing public spending, often resulting in cuts to cultural budgets.

Transnational networks: Collaborative alliances across national borders for exchanging policy practices and fostering regional integration.

Cultural diplomacy: The strategic use of cultural heritage and creative exchanges to advance international relations and intercultural understanding.

Soft power: The capacity to influence others through attraction and persuasion rather than coercion or payment, often via cultural and public diplomacy.

References

1. Culture as an objective for and a means of achieving a Wellbeing Economy. Humanities and Social Sciences Communications (2023).
2. The impact of austerity measures on local government funding for culture in England. Cultural Trends (2021).
3. Heritage Diplomacy Discourses in the EU: Notions on Cultural Diplomacy, Cultural Heritage, and Intercultural Dialogue among EU Officials and Heritage Practitioners. Ethnologia Europaea (2021).