Lisa Nandy ‘absolutely determined’ to ensure access to arts for every child in UK
Your support helps us to tell the storyOur mission is to deliver unbiased, fact-based reporting that holds power to account and exposes the truth.Whether $5 or $50, every contribution counts.Support us to deliver journalism without an agenda.Louise ThomasEditorFind out moreLabour minister Lisa Nandy has said she is “absolutely determined” to ensure that access to the arts is a reality for every child in the UK. The secretary of state for culture, media, and sport spoke at an event in Westminster on Tuesday (8 October), as she announced the winner of the Robson Orr TenTen Award 2024. Grenada-born British artist Denzil Forrester was the recipient of the prize for his work, Altar, which depicts a scene from a reggae festival in Cornwall, where the artist lives and works. The 10-year scheme was launched in 2018 and was presented by the Government Art Collection. It is sponsored by leading philanthropists Sybil Robson Orr and Matthew Orr. Nandy praised Forrester as she hailed his story as an example of the importance of getting “great art works out of the basement and into communities where they belong”. “We’re going to lead by example, with the Government Art Collection to make sure that people in every part of the country can see what it is,” she said. “But while talent is everywhere in our country, we are aware that opportunity is not. It is down to people like Sybil today that that is beginning to change, because not only do they support emerging artists, but they also work tirelessly to take us back into our schools and into our classrooms where they move it along to a whole new generation of young people.”Speaking about the impact of previous government rule, Nandy continued, “Over the last decade we have seen culture and creativity erased from our classrooms.”Nandy presented Denzil Forrester with the Robson Orr TenTen Award More
