The Midlands is proud of its distinctive cultural identity and rich heritage of art and creativity. Across the East and West Midlands, the area of 11,000 square miles is home to a population of 10.9 million people, many of whom live in major cities such as Birmingham, Leicester and Nottingham. Birmingham is the second largest city in the UK, whereas parts of Herefordshire, Derbyshire and Lincolnshire are among the most rural in the country.
Drawing on many years of history, world class collections and architecture, artists of global influence and reputation (both contemporary and historical) as well as some of England’s most exciting and ambitious arts organisations, popular culture has been a central part of life in the Midlands for decades.
With a history of creativity and industry, it is no surprise that the area contains some of England’s most exciting, innovative and ambitious artists and cultural organisations. Working at all levels, they engage and inspire audiences, deliver creative experiences which make a difference to people’s lives and to their communities, and collaborate with peers nationally and internationally to refresh and grow the Midlands’ cultural ecology.
It’s been a significant decade for creativity in the Midlands, with Coventry being UK City of Culture in 2021, followed by cultural festivals running alongside the Birmingham Commonwealth Games 2022 and more recently the Kabaddi World Cup in Wolverhampton, hosted for the first time outside Asia.
The Midlands has multiple award-winning theatres including Curve in Leicester, Nottingham Playhouse and the Royal Shakespeare Company. Together with exciting Collections housed across our many and varied museums. Nottingham boasts UNESCO City of Literature status and Stoke-on-Trent is a designated World Craft City.
Looking ahead, Birmingham aspires to be the National Centre for Musical Theatre at the Hippodrome, which is home to Birmingham Dance Hub, including internationally acclaimed Birmingham Royal Ballet. This year, Stoke-on-Trent is celebrating its centenary and looking further ahead Coventry City Centre Cultural Gateway will become home to a new management organisation, which will care for the Arts Council Collection.
We want the Midlands to be a place where it is possible to live, train and sustain a creative career.
The presence of major cities provides critical mass and momentum which attracts and retains creatives and supports innovation as well as enabling the Midlands to sustain large cultural organisations, conservatoires and events of international standing. Our renowned rural landscapes and post-industrial heritage continue to support a distinctive strength in arts and culture outside of traditional spaces, whether in the form of outdoor arts or the re-use of industrial buildings.
The Midlands continues to put culture and creativity at the heart of place-making, vibrant communities and the future growth of our economy. We currently invest more than £102 million a year of National Lottery and Grant in Aid funding in organisations and individuals across the area.
The Arts Council has nurtured dynamic partnerships with local authorities and councils across the East and West Midlands, who we work with collaboratively to promote cultural growth. We have a range of committed partners in local government, through elected Mayors, in Higher Education, health and the third sector who see culture as a vital part of what they do to improve people’s lives.
Major investment through Levelling Up programmes will bring about transformation in cultural organisations in places such as Coventry and North Northamptonshire, with additional investment in Priority Places including Lincolnshire, Mansfield and Stoke-on-Trent.
The recognition of the role of culture and creativity in the Midlands’ future is stronger than ever and the Arts Council’s 10-year strategy, Let’s Create, is providing a firm platform to forge more partnerships to further expand the cultural ecology.