Lily Allen, Emeli Sandé, the actor Mark Rylance will join a host of celebrities are set to help Jeremy Corbyn launch Labour ’s £1bn charter for the arts tonight.
Mr Corbyn has pledged a “cultural renaissance” that would put the arts at the “heart of government”.
Labour said their ‘Arts for All’ charter aims to give all of Britain access to culture.
It includes £1billion for building and upgrading libraries, museums and art galleries and £175 million a year in an arts pupil premium to give every primary school student in the country access the arts.
Research by the House of Commons Library has shown that libraries, museums and art galleries across England have had their funding slashed by at least £640m since 2010.
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Jeremy Corbyn said: “The Government I lead will ensure that every child has the opportunity to access the arts, learn a musical instrument and develop their creativity.”
Ms Sandé “said she was “proud” to support the initiative.
She said: “The arts are so important to our culture, our identity and our communities.
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“Every child, whatever their background, should be able to enjoy the fundamentals in life and the access to the arts is crucial to that.”
Lily Allen – who posted a video weeping as she praised the Labour manifesto last week – added: “The idea that we’ll have access to more galleries and theatres and that children will be able to learn a musical instrument is crucial.”
Mr Corbyn is also set to be joined tonight in London by MIA, Clean Bandit and Ken Loach.
The fund would be paid for out of Labour’s £150bn, five-year ‘Social Transformation Fund’ which is set to be funded by government borrowing.
Labour claims the cash would fund “up to” 195 library refurbishments and 400 IT refits, “up to” 500,000 musical instruments for schools.
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It could also fund “up to” 90 renewal projects and museums and galleries and up to 500 community spaces for arts groups like choirs and pottery clubs.
It is not clear yet how the cash would be divided or how many projects exactly it would fund.
Meanwhile, a £175m arts pupil premium would fund one visit to an arts destination per year for primary school pupils, as well as after-school clubs and arts specialists working alongside teachers.
