Northern arts leaders demand share of £1.5bn funding package

In a letter to The Guardian, Christine Baranski and Sharon Maher criticize the government's arts funding disparity between London and northern England. They note that £135m was invested in the V&A East museum in London's East Bank cultural quarter, while the Tate in Liverpool's Albert Docks has been closed for over two years and the Museum of Slavery has shut. Towns like Kendal, Barrow, and Kirkby Lonsdale are bidding for UK Town of Culture 2028 designation to secure funds. Maher highlights that Arts Council England spends approximately £57 per Londoner versus £28 per person in the north. Both call for a portion of the £1.5bn package to be directed to northern arts infrastructure.