Strong public support for arts and culture, but not for the reasons many arts organisations lead with
14 September 2026The first study to apply More in Common’s Seven Segments of Britain to arts and culture finds the public values culture for tourism, the economy and heritage – but only half say it is for people like them.
Britain values arts and culture, but largely not for reasons the many arts organisations usually lead with, according to new research by audience insight specialists Indigo and public opinion researchers More in Common.
The study is the first to apply More in Common’s values-based Seven Segments of Britain, a model now in use across political and civic strategy, to arts and culture. It put identical questions to a nationally representative sample of the British public and to the Indigo Share Audience Panel of committed, ticket-buying arts audiences.
Asked to name the main benefits of arts and culture to Britain, the public’s top three were attracting tourists, boosting the economy and preserving Britain’s past. Improving wellbeing came fourth, bringing communities together seventh, and improving local areas eleventh.
Only one segment placed any of those three in its own top three: Progressive Activists, who make up 12% of the British population but half of the arts engaged audiences who make up the Indigo Share Audience Panel.
The research also found that just 51% of the public say people like them benefit from arts and culture in the UK, against 77% who say wealthy and upper-class people do. That figure rises to 82% among those who attended five or more artforms in the past year, but drops to 24% among those who attended nothing, suggesting that attendance significantly increases the feeling that culture is “for you”.
Heritage divides the most
Britain is broadly proud of its culture: national museums, British music, and British film and television all sit at 65% proud, comparing favourably with the BBC (38%) and the Royal Family (45%).
But British heritage and history proved the most divisive option tested, ranging from only 37% of Progressive Activists feeling pride to 84% of Traditional Conservatives.
A clear public mandate on AI
The most decisive result in the survey concerned AI. 71% of the public said it matters to them that the arts and culture they experience is made by human artists, against 22% who do not mind — with six of the seven segments falling between 67% and 86%.
Further findings
- Attendance is not the problem: 76% of the public had attended at least one of fourteen art forms in the past year, and no segment fell below 65%.
- The ‘place’ argument is losing: Given a choice between the two, 54% leaned towards “there are other things which would improve my area more”, against 39% who leaned towards “having more arts and culture near me would improve where I live”.
- The sector’s audience is not the whole country: The four most disengaged segments account for 58% of the British population but only 18% of the engaged arts audience.
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Katy Raines, CEO of IndigoWe may have spent a decade making an argument that lands beautifully with the people already in our buildings, but doesn’t resonate with anyone else. Wellbeing, community and placemaking are real benefits, but they are not the main reasons most of the country values culture.
“The sector’s instinct is to treat the tension and division between segments as a reason to keep away from heritage. But it is also what most of the country values. What would it look like if we brought our best artistic talent to celebrating British heritage and history in an inclusive and creative way, rather than dismissing it as divisive and allowing others to own it?”
Rhiannon McQuone, Research Associate at More in CommonBritish public opinion can no longer be read along left–right lines. It divides along values: trust, threat, and whether people feel they have any agency over their own lives. Applying that lens to arts and culture reveals a sector making its case to one part of the country. The encouraging finding is that there is real common ground to build on. It just isn’t where the sector has been looking.”
Jack Gamble, Director of the Campaign for the ArtsAt a time when so much divides us, the arts are something we have in common. A clear majority of us attend arts events, are proud of British film, music and museums, and see the good the arts do for the country and for each of us. But the UK’s public investment in culture remains among the lowest in Europe – and, as this research underlines, too many people still feel the arts aren’t for people like them. That will only change if enough of us, wherever we live and however we vote, say it should.”
