Art is created by those who have the opportunity but not everyone gets the opportunity, and that is the greatest tragedy.

How many interesting, different, diverse voices go unheard because they are never given the opportunity to sing, to dance, to paint, to sculpt, to write, to act, to create whatever they can create.

Art is where the soul breathes, where the beauty of life can be savoured, shared, translated into forms that transcend what we know, what we feel. Art is where we explore who and what we are, what we want to be, what we want to share with those around us.

Art can transform us, heal us, save us. It is the light of creation captured in a moment, by the paintbrush, the sculpture, the singer or the song.

Without art, what is life?

How great a world where everyone gets an opportunity to explore the art in the core of their soul.

How beautiful a world where art is from everyone, from everywhere, and brings us all together. Art should not be limited to those who can afford to make it but made by those who are willing to pick up that brush, take hold of that pen, stand upon that stage, learn those words and sing that song.

Art is what we make to feel alive.

Why would you not want that for everyone?”

Ksenia Zlobina , – UK Arts Council Hearing on Increasing Grant Funding