Overview of Cultral Policies and Measures

Responsibility within Government for cultural policy is vested in the Department for Culture, Media, and Sport (DCMS). This is a relatively small Government Ministry
using a range of ‘Arms Length Bodies’ for policy delivery purposes.

Of these, the Arts Council England is most closely involved in the promotion of diversity of cultural expression. One of the flag-ship programmes to which it has contributed is the Cultural Olympiad, a nationwide programme of the UK’s best sarts and culture, culminating in the London 2012 Festival immediately prior to the Olympic Games.

Artists from around the world have been invited to participate in an unprecedented range of events across the UK which have attracted audiences of around a million people.

One of the Cultural Olympiad’s main projects is Stories of the World. It aims to show-case innovation and excellence in museums, libraries, and archives to a worldwide audience. Stories of the World welcomes overseas visitors to the UK by using our rich collections to tell inspirational stories about the UK’s relationships with the world. The project is led by the Arts Council England in partnership with the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG).

Young people are at the heart of the project, which relates stories to audiences from the viewpoint of people from diverse cultures, now living in the UK. Objects once bypassed for being reminders of our imperial past are now re-examined and given more relevance to contemporary Britain. Similar themes can be found in such projects as ‘We Face Forward’, a major
exhibition of contemporary West African art: ‘the musical collective, Africa Express: ‘a celebration of black British comedy, Ha Ha Hackney – Look Black in Laughter’: and ‘Rio Occupation’10 a collaboration between artists from Rio De Janeiro and the UK in London.